Lottery player reads story of woman winning big in Virginia — then hits jackpot herself

When Melissa Hood read about someone else’s big win in a Virginia Lottery online game, she thought it would never happen to her.

Then she won.

The Virginia woman also plays online lottery games, but didn’t imagine the same good fortune would come her way when she was reading the news story about another woman’s win, the Virginia Lottery shared in a Dec. 5 news release.

“Yeah, like that’s going to happen,” she recalled thinking to herself, according to the lottery.

Hood won a $463,343 jackpot in The Lamp online game, officials said.

“I couldn’t believe it,” she told lottery officials. “This is really happening!”

The King George County gymnastics coach said she doesn’t have plans for her winnings yet.

“All Virginia Lottery profits go to K-12 education in Virginia,” lottery officials said. King George County “received more than $2 million in Lottery funds for K-12 education last fiscal year.”

The Lamp has a progressive jackpot that grows until someone wins it. The odds of winning a prize in the game are 1 in 3.55.

King George County is on the Virginia-Maryland state line about 60 miles south of Washington, D.C.

This story was originally published December 7, 2023 at 7:51 AM with the headline "Lottery player reads story of woman winning big in Virginia — then hits jackpot herself."