A chance to leave early after a busy period at work turned into a $50,000 Scratchers win for a Missouri Lottery player in Union. It started when he redeemed a winning ticket at QuikTrip, 100 Bourbeuse River Access, in Union. It ended with happy tears on his front porch.

“I had a $50 winner on a $20 scratch-off, and I cashed it in at one of the vending machines,” the winner explained, before sharing how he chose which ticket to spend that $50 prize money on.

“I did my ‘Eeny, meeny, miny, moe’ thing, and I picked the multiplier one – the ‘500X Payout.’”

He then took the newly purchased ticket out to his car and scratched it. There, he would uncover a 500X multiplier symbol on a $100 prize, making his ticket worth $50,000.

“I got to the last number on the third row, and I see the 500X,” he shared. “Well, I accidentally scratched off some of the prize, too, so I see two big zeroes and instantly my heart started beating real fast, and I got real sweaty and clammy. I almost started crying.”

After giving himself a pep talk to believe the win really did happen, he wanted to share the good news.

“I calmed down a little bit, and I went back home and I showed my wife, and we both started crying on the front porch.”

Plans for the winnings include paying off both his and his wife’s vehicles and putting the rest in a savings account.

“I’m not going to blow it,” he stated.

“500X Payout” is a $50 Scratchers game offering top prizes of $5 million. Currently, over $209.8 million in unclaimed prizes remain in the game – including two top prizes, three $1 million prizes and 41 additional $50,000 prizes.

In FY26, Franklin County players won more than $22.3 million in Missouri Lottery prizes, retailers received more than $2 million in commissions and bonuses, and more than $4.8 million in Lottery proceeds went to education programs in the county.