2021-06-01 16:16:47.413

As Vanessa Long claimed a $2 million top prize at the Missouri Lottery’s St. Louis office, she described the moment she won on her favorite Scratchers ticket. While the game was familiar, the reveal was not.

“That’s my favorite game I play,” the St. Louis resident shared about her “Gold Rush” Scratchers ticket. “I just happened to play it one day, and I got lucky.”

Long relayed how she normally scratches the whole ticket off to fully play the game, but on this particular day, she decided to scratch off just the barcode and then scan it to see if she had a winner. The results of that scan took a moment to comprehend.

“I started looking around, and I thought I had mistaken it, and it was $2,000,” she laughed. “But I saw a column of zeros, and I was happy!”

Those zeros turned out to be worth $2 million on the ticket Long purchased at United Mart BP, 7430 Natural Bridge Road, in St. Louis.

In the last full fiscal year, players in St. Louis County won more than $179 million dollars in prizes. During that same time period, local businesses earned more than $17 million in Lottery commissions, and more than $29 million in Missouri Lottery proceeds were spent on education programs in the county – spanning local elementary and secondary schools, as well as community colleges and universities.

All Missouri Lottery offices are currently open for claims of $600 or more, by appointment only. Winning tickets may also be claimed by mail.