A Mississippi woman surprised her family when she came home a millionaire.

On Monday, the Lee County woman walked away from the Mississippi Lottery Headquarters with the title of being the first millionaire winner from the lottery’s new $20 Jackson scratch-off game, which was launched in November 2023. The game’s $1 million prize is the largest prize offered on a scratch-off from the Mississippi Lottery.

On Friday, Jan. 26, 2024, the soon-to-be lucky winner walked into Blue Sky #735 on North Gloster in Tupelo to purchase a few tickets. Noticing a woman in front of her purchase the $20 Jackson game, she decided to buy one, along with her normal Cash Pop purchase. She scratched it a few hours later at work and was surprised at the result – she had won one of the top prizes worth $1 million.

“I told the kids I had a surprise to tell them when we got home,” she said. “One joked I’d won a million dollars. I gave them cookies, instead. They were disappointed; then, I told them I had in fact won one million dollars!”

The shocked player said she kept the ticket with her all weekend, too nervous to leave it home.

“This is phenomenal,” said Mississippi Lottery President Jeff Hewitt. “What a great moment for this player and her family. With this game selling so well, we knew one of the big winners had to come in any day now.”

One top prize of $1 million and one 2^nd Chance prize of $1 million remain on this ticket, along with numerous other prizes.

With a life-changing prize like this, the player plans to continue working and enjoy her win. Meanwhile, she and her husband had decided to buy a new home this year; that task just became a lot easier.