A Missouri Lottery “Festive Fortune” Scratchers ticket purchased at Ramey Supermarket, 1211 Parkway Shopping Center in West Plains, turned out to hold a $50,000 holiday surprise for a Howell County man.

“I saw the Christmas tickets had been put out, so I thought maybe I’d get lucky,” the winner said. “And I did.”

The ticket’s $50,000 prize is the top prize available in the “Festive Fortune” game, and was the first of four such top prizes to be claimed. The game still offers more than $7 million in unclaimed prizes, including the three other top prizes and four $10,000 prizes.

In the last fiscal year, Missouri Lottery players won more than $8.4 million in prizes from tickets purchased at Howell County retailers. Those retailers received more than $791,000 in commissions bonuses, and more than $1.3 million in appropriated Lottery proceeds supported Howell County educational programs. A detailed list of those programs is available at MOLottery.com.