Cash is the word; Osceola County woman becomes multi-millionaire playing Florida lottery scratch-off

OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. — A Kissimmee woman is a multi-millionaire after winning a top prize of $5 million from the $5,000,000 CASHWORD scratch-off game from the Florida Lottery.

Janice Velez claimed the $5 million after purchasing her ticket from the RaceTrac, located at 4541 Pleasant Hill Road in Kissimmee.

▶ WATCH CHANNEL 9 EYEWITNESS NEWS

The 60-year-old chose to receive her winnings as a one-time, lump-sum payment of $3,915,000.

The store that sold the winning ticket received a $10,000 bonus commission.

Read: Deputies: Marion County man drugged, strangled husband before staging fake crime

The $20 game, launched in May 2020 and features eight top prizes of $5 million and 24 second-tier prizes of $1 million.

Scratch-off games made up 72% of ticket sales in the 2022-2023 fiscal year.

Read: Casselberry woman accused of killing her husband accepts plea deal during trial

Since inception, scratch-off games have awarded more than $58.3 billion in prizes, created 1,878 millionaires, and generated more than $18.09 billion for the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund.

Since 1988, Florida Lottery games have paid more than $89 billion in prizes and made nearly 3,700 people millionaires.

Read: Marion County firefighters rescue 2 dogs, 2 cats from house fire

The Florida Lottery is responsible for contributing more than $45 billion to enhance education and sending more than 983,000 students to college through the Bright Futures Scholarship Program.

Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.

©2023 Cox Media Group