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NYC Chef Wins Spicy $2 Million Playing Virginia Lottery Scratcher

A New York City chef is a one-in-a-million winner after trying his luck on a Virginia Lottery scratcher game.

Lin Wen Zheng

Lin Wen Zheng

Photo Credit: Virginia Lottery

Lin Wheng Zheng was visiting friends in Alexandria when he decided to a Colossal Cash ticket at High Up Food Market on Little River Turnpike in Alexandria, according to the Virginia Lottery.

As Zheng scratched off his ticket, he was excited to see what he thought was a $20,000 prize, but quickly realized it was much more than that. Zheng’s ticket was actually worth $2 million.

Zheng was given the choice of receiving the full $2 million prize through payments over the course of 30 years or taking a one-time cash-out of $1.28 million before taxes. Zheng chose to cash out. The store he purchased the ticket from will receive a $10,000 bonus for selling the winning ticket.

The New York City chef says that he has no immediate plans for his winnings, although he may invite his Virginia friends to join him in a celebration, VA Lottery says.

Colossal Cash is one of the dozens of scratchers available from the Virginia Lottery. It features prizes ranging from $20 to $2 million, including a $ 50,000 second prize. This is the second top prize claimed in the game, which means one $2 million top prize remains unclaimed. The odds of winning the top prize are 1 in 1,020,000. The odds of winning any prize in this game are 1 in 3.21.

Authorized by Virginia voters in a successful 1987 referendum, the Virginia Lottery generates more than $2 million per day for Virginia’s K-12 public schools. In the fiscal year ending June 30, 2021, lottery customers helped generate more than $765 million in funding for public education. For more information, visit the Virginia Lottery’s Giving Back page.

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