Lucky lottery player wins life-changing prize in Virginia. ‘Started counting zeros’

A Virginia woman’s after-work routine of playing lottery games online took a turn for the best when she won a life-changing top prize, lottery officials said.

Martine Moore, from Dinwiddie County, initially thought she’d won a $1,000 lottery prize, but then she “started counting zeros” until she realized her prize was much bigger, the Virginia Lottery said in a Jan. 29 news release.

Moore won the $1 million top prize in the Million Dollar Countdown game, lottery officials said.

The game started in September, and tickets cost between 50 cents and $50, according to the lottery.

The overall odds of winning are 1 in 4 for standard mode and the odds of winning a top prize are 1 in 1 million, lottery officials said.

Dinwiddie County is a 45-mile drive southwest form Richmond.

This story was originally published January 30, 2025 at 10:20 AM with the headline "Lucky lottery player wins life-changing prize in Virginia. ‘Started counting zeros’."

Natalie Demaree

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Natalie Demaree is a service journalism reporter covering Mississippi for McClatchy Media. She holds a master’s in journalism from Columbia Journalism School and a bachelor’s in journalism and political science with a specialization in African and African American Studies from the University of Arkansas.