Winners & News

Gary Hensley went to the 7-Eleven to buy coffee and some gas, but while he was in the store, his eyes fell on a Virginia Lottery scratcher ticket.

“Something just told me to buy it!” he later told Lottery officials.

So, the Charlottesville man bought the Bonus Star Millions ticket and took it home with him. When he scratched it, he couldn’t believe what he saw. The ticket was a $1 million winner. 

“I about had a heart attack!” he said. “I didn’t get much sleep that night!”

Mr. Hensley had just become the first top prize winner in Bonus Star Millions (game #2335). The game features prizes ranging from $50 all the way up to that $1 million top prize. He had the choice of taking the full $1 million in annual payments over 30 years or a one-time cash option of $500,000 before taxes. He chose the cash option.

The chances of winning the top prize are 1 in 489,600. The chances of winning any prize in this game are 1 in 3.78. There are still two top prizes unclaimed in this game.

The winning ticket was bought at the 7-Eleven at 3455 Seminole Trail in Charlottesville. 

All Virginia Lottery profits go to K-12 education in Virginia. Mr. Hensley lives in Albemarle County, which received more than $4.8 million in Lottery funds for K-12 education last fiscal year. In Fiscal Year 2024, the Lottery raised more than $934 million for K-12 education, making up approximately 10 percent of Virginia’s total K-12 school budget. 

For a complete list of Lottery funds distributed to Virginia school districts, visit the Virginia Lottery’s Giving Back page. For general information or to play games online, visit the Virginia Lottery’s website or download the Lottery’s app. Connect with the Lottery on Facebook, X, Instagram, or YouTube. 

With all gaming, please play responsibly.

Milton and Charles Whitley have won some notable prizes playing the Virginia Lottery in the past but nothing like the $1 million prize they recently claimed.

The brothers, who both live in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, bought a Jackson scratcher ticket at the E-Z stop on West Stuart Drive in Hillsville. The ticket ended up being a top prize winner.

Jackson is one of dozens of scratcher games available from the Virginia Lottery. It features prizes ranging from $20 up to that $1 million top prize. This is the second top prize claimed in this game, which means one more remains unclaimed.

The brothers had the choice of taking the $1 million prize in annual payments over 30 years or a one-time cash option of $500,000 before taxes. They chose the cash option.

The odds of winning the top prize in the Jackson game are 1 in 408,000. The odds of winning any prize in this game are 1 in 2.8.

All Virginia Lottery profits go to K-12 education in Virginia. The winning ticket was bought in Carroll County, which received more than $4.2 million in Lottery funds for K-12 education last fiscal year. In Fiscal Year 2024, the Lottery raised more than $934 million for K-12 education, making up approximately 10 percent of Virginia’s total K-12 school budget. 

For a complete list of Lottery funds distributed to Virginia school districts, visit the Virginia Lottery’s Giving Back page. For general information or to play games online, visit the Virginia Lottery’s website or download the Lottery’s app. Connect with the Lottery on Facebook, X, Instagram, or YouTube. 

With all gaming, please play responsibly.

When David Mayes of Culpeper won $100,000 playing the Virginia Lottery’s 10X the Money game, it was a win for the family. 

Mr. Mayes told Virginia Lottery officials he and his brother were taking their mother out to eat when the three of them stopped and bought some Virginia Lottery tickets. The three of them continued in the car with their mother scratching the tickets. When she scratched one of his tickets, it was a top prize winner.

“She joked that they never have winners there,” Mr. Mayes said. “We were all happy!”

The winning ticket was bought at Nick’s Market & Deli, 133 West Shirley Avenue in Warrenton. 

This is the twelfth top prize claimed in 10X the Money (game #2146), which means the game is closed. It is the Virginia Lottery’s policy to end games after the final top prize is claimed. The chances of winning the top prize in this game were 1 in 1,713,600, while the chances of winning any prize were 1 in 4.48.

All Virginia Lottery profits go to K-12 education in Virginia. Mr. Mayes lives in Culpeper County, which received nearly $7 million in Lottery funds for K-12 education last fiscal year. In Fiscal Year 2024, the Lottery raised more than $934 million for K-12 education, making up approximately 10 percent of Virginia’s total K-12 school budget.

For a complete list of Lottery funds distributed to Virginia school districts, visit the Virginia Lottery’s Giving Back page. For general information or to play games online, visit the Virginia Lottery’s website or download the Lottery’s app. Connect with the Lottery on Facebook, X, Instagram, or YouTube. 

With all gaming, please play responsibly.

When Nicole Humphrey of Hampton spotted a new scratcher game from the Virginia Lottery, she decided to give it a try. She bought five tickets for the Clue game and took them home to scratch.

One of those tickets just happened to win the game’s $100,000 top prize.

The next morning, she arrived early at the Virginia Lottery’s Hampton Roads customer service center in Hampton.

“I’ve been up all night checking every five minutes just to make sure it doesn’t disappear!” she said. 

Clue is one of dozens of scratcher games available from the Virginia Lottery. It features prizes ranging from $5 up to that $100,000 top prize. This is the first top prize claimed in the game, which means two more top prizes remain unclaimed. 

The chances of winning the top prize are 1 in 1,101,600. The chances of winning any prize in this game are 1 in 4.54.

You can bet Ms. Humphrey plans to celebrate her win. “I’m going to party like no other!” she told Lottery officials. 

All Virginia Lottery profits go to K-12 education in Virginia. Ms. Humphrey lives in Hampton, which received more than $23.3 million in Lottery funds for K-12 education last fiscal year. In Fiscal Year 2024, the Lottery raised more than $934 million for K-12 education, making up approximately 10 percent of Virginia’s total K-12 school budget. 

For a complete list of Lottery funds distributed to Virginia school districts, visit the Virginia Lottery’s Giving Back page. For general information or to play games online, visit the Virginia Lottery’s website or download the Lottery’s app. Connect with the Lottery on Facebook, X, Instagram, or YouTube. 

With all gaming, please play responsibly.   

Marlene Edler was sitting at home with her husband, chatting and playing on the Virginia Lottery’s mobile app. Suddenly, she saw something she had never seen before.

“Is this real?” she asked.

The North Chesterfield woman had just discovered she’d won a $241,170 jackpot in the Virginia Lottery’s Marvelous Money: Vegas Nights game.

“I can’t even explain it!” she later told Lottery officials. “I’m just so excited!”

Marvelous Money: Vegas Nights is one of dozens of online instant games available on the Virginia Lottery app and at valottery.com. The jackpot grows as more people play. The odds of winning any prize in this game are 1 in 4.31.

In addition to online instant games, players can purchase Powerball, Mega Millions, Cash4Life, Pick 3, Pick 4, Pick 5 and Cash 5 with EZ Match plays online. Players need to be at least 18 years of age and physically located in Virginia. 

All Virginia Lottery profits go to K-12 education in Virginia. Ms. Edler lives in Chesterfield County, which received nearly $40 million in Lottery funds for K-12 education last fiscal year. In Fiscal Year 2023, the Lottery raised more than $867 million for K-12 education, making up approximately 10 percent of Virginia’s total K-12 school budget. 

For a complete list of Lottery funds distributed to Virginia school districts, visit the Virginia Lottery’s Giving Back page. For general information or to play games online, visit the Virginia Lottery’s website or download the Lottery’s app. Connect with the Lottery on Facebook, X, Instagram, or YouTube. 

With all gaming, please play responsibly.   

Dwight Davis was watching the Virginia Lottery’s evening drawing live, as he often does. However, this time was different. When the winning numbers came up in the Cash 5 with EZ Match game, he’d matched them all.

“I said, ‘Wait a minute!’” the Norfolk man told Lottery officials. “Either I wrote a number down wrong, or I got this!”

Mr. Davis matched all five winning numbers in the June 2 drawing with a ticket he bought at the Food Lion at 3530 Tidewater Drive in Norfolk. The prize was a $255,000 jackpot.

Those winning numbers were 8-10-14-24-42.

Cash 5 with EZ Match features a rolling jackpot starting at a minimum of $200,000. The odds of matching all five numbers to win the jackpot are 1 in 1,221,759.

All Virginia Lottery profits go to K-12 education in Virginia. Mr. Davis lives in Norfolk, which received more than $36.5 million in Lottery funds for K-12 education last fiscal year. In Fiscal Year 2024, the Lottery raised more than $934 million for K-12 education, making up approximately 10 percent of Virginia’s total K-12 school budget. 

For a complete list of Lottery funds distributed to Virginia school districts, visit the Virginia Lottery’s Giving Back page. For general information or to play games online, visit the Virginia Lottery’s website or download the Lottery’s app. Connect with the Lottery on Facebook, X, Instagram, or YouTube. 

With all gaming, please play responsibly.   

Today, the Virginia Lottery released its report on casino gaming activity for the month of May 2025.  There are three operating casinos in Virginia:  Hard Rock Bristol, Rivers Casino Portsmouth, and Caesars Virginia.

During May, gaming revenues from Virginia casinos totaled $85.4 million.   Virginia law assesses a graduated tax on a casino’s AGR, or wagers minus winnings, and $15.4 million in taxes were paid to the Gaming Proceeds Fund.  

 

May-25	Hard Rock Bristol		Rivers Casino Portsmouth		Caesars Virginia		Total
	Count	AGR	Count	AGR	Count	AGR	Adjusted Gaming Revenue
Slots	1423	$18,743,088.25	1419	$20,003,298.81	1477	$24,764,526.67	$63,510,913.73
Table Games	73	$4,283,606.25	84	$8,302,315.80	100	$9,290,524.65	$21,876,446.70
Total	1496	$23,026,694.50	1503	$28,305,614.61	1577	$34,055,051.32	$85,387,360.43

 

Of the state tax on casino AGR, the statute specifies distributions to the Problem Gambling Treatment and Support Fund, the Family and Children’s Trust Fund, and the host city. For the Bristol casino, statute specifies the portion of taxes reserved for the host city go to the Regional Improvement Commission (RIC). The timing of the tax distributions varies, but the allocation of the monthly taxes from the casino activity is as follows:

 

	Hard Rock Bristol	Rivers Casino Portsmouth	Caesars Virginia	Monthly Total
Total Tax	$4,144,805.01	$5,095,010.63	$6,129,909.24	$15,369,724.88
Host City / RIC (6% of AGR)	$1,381,601.67	$1,698,336.88	$2,043,303.08	$5,123,241.63
Problem Gambling Treatment and Support Fund (0.8% of total tax)	$33,158.44	$40,760.09	$49,039.27	$122,957.80
Family and Children’s Trust Fund (0.2% of total tax)	$8,289.61	$10,190.02	$12,259.82	$30,739.45
Remaining available in the Gaming Proceeds Fund	$2,721,755.29	$3,345,723.64	$4,025,307.07	$10,092,786.00

 

About Virginia Lottery
The Virginia Lottery assumed regulatory oversight of casino gaming in the Commonwealth in 2020. Taxes generated by casino gaming will benefit priorities as determined by the General Assembly. Information about casinos, including regulations and approvals, can be viewed at www.valottery.com/aboutus/casinosandsportsbetting/casinos.

 

Angie Crutchley was on a winning streak. In early May, the Exmore woman won $5,000 playing the Virginia Lottery. But that was a just a warmup for when she sat down to play the Virginia Cash Expander game and won $150,000.

“It was a good month!” she told Lottery officials. “My cheeks are hurting because I can’t stop smiling!”

Ms. Crutchley said when she realized how much she’d won, she drove to her mother’s house with the good news. However, her mother thought it was a scam. 

Virginia Cash Expander is one of dozens of online instant games available at the Virginia Lottery’s website, valottery.com, and on the Virginia Lottery mobile app. It features a top prize of $250,000. The odds of winning a prize in this game are 1 in 4.7. The odds of winning the top prize are 1 in 2,000,000.

In addition to online instant games, players can purchase Powerball, Mega Millions, Cash4Life, Pick 3, Pick 4, Pick 5 and Cash 5 with EZ Match plays online. Players must be at least 18 years of age and physically located in Virginia. 

All Virginia Lottery profits go to K-12 education in Virginia. Ms. Crutchley lives in Northampton County, which received more than $2.4 million in Lottery funds for K-12 education last fiscal year. In Fiscal Year 2024, the Lottery raised more than $934 million for K-12 education, making up approximately 10 percent of Virginia’s total K-12 school budget. 

For a complete list of Lottery funds distributed to Virginia school districts, visit the Virginia Lottery’s Giving Back page. For general information or to play games online, visit the Virginia Lottery’s website or download the Lottery’s app. Connect with the Lottery on Facebook, X, Instagram, or YouTube. 

With all gaming, please play responsibly.   

Kimberly Kemp and the Virginia Lottery have something in common: They are both all about education. Ms. Kemp is a retired schoolteacher. They Lottery generates profits for K-12 public education.

Now they have something else in common: Ms. Kemp is a Lottery winner!

The Fredericksburg woman won the $100,000 top prize in the Money Tree scratcher game. She bought her winning ticket when she went grocery shopping at Giant Food Store, 35 Town and Country Road in Fredericksburg. 

“I scratched it and said, ‘Something must be wrong!’” she told Lottery officials, describing the moment she discovered her ticket was a big winner.

This is the third and final top prize claimed in Money Tree (game #2308), which means the game is closed. It is the Virginia Lottery’s policy to end games after the final top prize is claimed. The chances of winning the top prize in this game were 1 in 1,020,000, while the chances of winning any prize were 1 in 4.26.

All Virginia Lottery profits go to K-12 education in Virginia. Ms. Kemp lives in Stafford County, which received more than $18.4 million in Lottery funds for K-12 education last fiscal year. In Fiscal Year 2024, the Lottery raised more than $934 million for K-12 education, making up approximately 10 percent of Virginia’s total K-12 school budget. 

For a complete list of Lottery funds distributed to Virginia school districts, visit the Virginia Lottery’s Giving Back page. For general information or to play games online, visit the Virginia Lottery’s website or download the Lottery’s app. Connect with the Lottery on Facebook, X, Instagram, or YouTube. 

With all gaming, please play responsibly.   

Two big winning Virginia Lottery tickets, including one worth $1 million, are set to become worthless soon unless whoever has them comes forward.

• A ticket won $1 million in the Virginia’s New Year’s Millionaire Raffle drawing on January 1, 2025. The ticket was bought at the Food Lion at 30 Windward Drive in Fishersville. It is set to expire at 5:00 p.m. (close of business) on Monday, June 30.

• A ticket won $50,000 in the December 28, 2024, Powerball drawing. It was bought at the 7-Eleven at 9113 Route 1 in North Chesterfield. It is set to expire at 5:00 p.m. (close of business) on Thursday June 26.

By law, winning tickets in Virginia expire 180 days after the drawing. Unclaimed prizes go to Virginia’s Literary Fund, which provides low-interest loans to localities for public school construction, renovations and technology upgrades.

The $1 million winning Raffle ticket was one of five $1 million winners in the annual drawing. The other four have been claimed. The unclaimed ticket is #229618.

The $50,000 winning Powerball ticket matched four of the first five winning numbers in that drawing, plus the Powerball number. The winning numbers in the December 28 drawing were 6-31-51-54-55, and the Powerball number was 12.

Whoever has the winning tickets should contact the Virginia Lottery immediately. The Lottery has eight customer service centers across Virginia where the ticket can be redeemed.

All Virginia Lottery profits go to K-12 education in Virginia. In Fiscal Year 2024, the Lottery raised more than $934 million for K-12 education, making up approximately 10 percent of Virginia’s total K-12 school budget. 

For a complete list of Lottery funds distributed to Virginia school districts, visit the Virginia Lottery’s Giving Back page. For general information or to play games online, visit the Virginia Lottery’s website or download the Lottery’s app. Connect with the Lottery on Facebook, X, Instagram, or YouTube. 

With all gaming, please play responsibly.

Pick 4 players in Virginia had a bonanza when the combination 4-4-4-4 was drawn in the June 3, 2025, night drawing.
        
Players wagered a total of $438,939 and walked away with $7.9 million in total winnings. That means the Lottery paid out 18 times what it took in for the drawing.

Quadruple numbers tend to be very popular in the Pick 4 game and are some of the most heavily wagered. A player who matches all four numbers on a $1 wager wins $5,000. 

Pick 4 drawings are held daily at 1:59 p.m. and 11 p.m. The chances of matching all four numbers in exact order are 1 in 10,000. Tickets can be bought at more than 5,300 business retailers across Virginia, on the Virginia Lottery’s app or at valottery.com. 

All Virginia Lottery profits go to K-12 education in Virginia. In Fiscal Year 2024, the Lottery raised more than $934 million for K-12 education, making up approximately 10 percent of Virginia’s total K-12 school budget. 

For a complete list of Lottery funds distributed to Virginia school districts, visit the Virginia Lottery’s Giving Back page. For general information or to play games online, visit the Virginia Lottery’s website or download the Lottery’s app. Connect with the Lottery on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or YouTube. 

With all gaming, please play responsibly.

The Virginia Lottery today released its report on sports wagering activity submitted by licensed operators for the month of April 2025. 

Between April 1 and April 30, 2025, Virginians wagered $609,713,988 (“handle”), 8.2% higher than last April.  A complete list of all approved operators can be found here, under the “approvals” tab.  For April, fourteen mobile operators and three casinos were authorized to accept wagers in Virginia.

Virginia bettors won a total of $546,920,765 for a combined 10.30% operators win percentage (“hold”). 

State law places a 15% tax on sports betting activity based on each permit holder’s adjusted gross revenue (AGR), which is defined as total wagers minus total winnings and other authorized deductions.

 

Of the state tax on sports betting AGR, the statute specifies 97.5 percent is to be deposited in the state’s General Fund and 2.5 percent is to be deposited into the Problem Gambling Treatment and Support Fund administered by the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services. 

Eleven operators reported net positive AGR for April, leading to $8.5 million in tax payments for the month:

 

About Virginia Lottery
The Virginia Lottery is responsible for the regulation of sports wagering in the Commonwealth of Virginia.  Monthly financial reports and other important information about legal sports wagering is posted at www.valottery.com/casinosandsportsbetting. 

 

Thousands of Virginia educators received a thank-you note in the Virginia Lottery’s Thank a Teacher campaign. One lucky Virginia teacher received that and a lot more! 

Drew Vermillion, an eighth-grade math teacher at Gate City Middle School in Gate City, won $2,500 courtesy of the Virginia Lottery and its partners, IGT and NeoPollard Interactive. The school where Vermillion teaches, Gate City Middle School, will receive $2,500 in supplies from The Supply Room. 

Vermillion’s name was randomly selected in the prize drawing from nearly 25,000 entries submitted by teachers who entered a special code from their thank-you notes. On May 29, the Virginia Lottery and its partners gathered to surprise Vermillion in a school-wide presentation just two days ahead of summer vacation. 

The tenth iteration of the award-winning Thank a Teacher campaign was held in conjunction with National Teacher Appreciation Week (May 5 - 9). This year, over 210,000 thank-you notes were sent to Virginia K-12 public school teachers by their students, parents or other Virginians. The notes, which could be hard-copy or electronic, each had one of three pieces of artwork designed by Virginia elementary, middle and high school students who won the Thank a Teacher Art Contest. 

When teachers received their thank-you notes, they could use a unique web code on the note to enter for a chance to win the grand prize. 

The Thank a Teacher campaign is a unique partnership between the Virginia Lottery, The Supply Room, IGT and NeoPollard Interactive. It is an initiative to celebrate those teachers whose hard work and inspiration have made a difference in so many lives. Over the last ten years, the program has recognized 22 educators throughout the state. 

To stay updated as the remaining Thank a Teacher winners are announced, please visit the Winners & News section of the Virginia Lottery website.

All Virginia Lottery profits go to K-12 public education in Virginia. Scott County Public Schools received more than $6,250,000 in Lottery funds for K-12 education last fiscal year. In Fiscal Year 2024, the Lottery generated more than $934 million for K-12 education, making up approximately 10 percent of Virginia’s total K-12 school budget. 

For a complete list of Lottery funds distributed to Virginia school districts, visit the Virginia Lottery’s Giving Back page. For general information or to play games online, visit the Virginia Lottery’s website or download the Lottery’s app. Connect with the Lottery on Facebook, X, Instagram, or YouTube. 

With all gaming, please play responsibly.   

When Samer Jarrah sat down to play the Virginia Lottery’s MONOPOLY Super Spin online game, he said to himself, “Maybe I’m going to get some luck today.”

Turns out, he was lucky beyond his wildest expectations. The Fairfax man won a jackpot worth $2,827,472. 

“My eyes came out!” he later told Lottery officials. “I said, ‘What happened!?’”

MONOPOLY Super Spin is one of dozens of online instant games available at the Virginia Lottery’s website, valottery.com, and on the Virginia Lottery mobile app. It features a progressive, growing jackpot. The odds per game of winning a prize are 1 in 3.88.

In addition to online instant games, players can purchase Powerball, Mega Millions, Cash4Life, Pick 3, Pick 4, Pick 5 and Cash 5 with EZ Match plays online. Players must be at least 18 years of age and physically located in Virginia.  

Mr. Jarrah said he has no immediate plans for his winnings. 

“I’m so light! I’m going to fly!” he said after his win.

All Virginia Lottery profits go to K-12 education in Virginia. Mr. Jarrah lives in Fairfax City, which received more than $487,000 in Lottery funds for K-12 education last fiscal year. In Fiscal Year 2024, the Lottery raised more than $934 million for K-12 education, making up approximately 10 percent of Virginia’s total K-12 school budget. 

For a complete list of Lottery funds distributed to Virginia school districts, visit the Virginia Lottery’s Giving Back page. For general information or to play games online, visit the Virginia Lottery’s website or download the Lottery’s app. Connect with the Lottery on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or YouTube. 

With all gaming, please play responsibly.

When Thomas Stephens told his wife they had won big in the Virginia Lottery’s Cash 5 with EZ Match game, he said she didn’t believe him at first. 

The Yorktown man matched all five numbers in the May 21 drawing to win a jackpot worth $255,000. 

The winning numbers were 14-20-32-36-43. He used Easy Pick and allowed the computer to randomly select the numbers on his ticket. 

He bought his ticket at Community Mart, located at 2210A Old Williamsburg Road in Yorktown.

Cash 5 with EZ Match features a rolling jackpot starting at a minimum of $200,000. The odds of matching all five numbers to win the jackpot are 1 in 1,221,759.

All Virginia Lottery profits go to K-12 education in Virginia. Mr. Stephens lives in York County, which received more than $5.5 million in Lottery funds for K-12 education last fiscal year. In Fiscal Year 2024, the Lottery raised more than $934 million for K-12 education, making up approximately 10 percent of Virginia’s total K-12 school budget. 

For a complete list of Lottery funds distributed to Virginia school districts, visit the Virginia Lottery’s Giving Back page. For general information or to play games online, visit the Virginia Lottery’s website or download the Lottery’s app. Connect with the Lottery on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or YouTube. 

With all gaming, please play responsibly.