Buying cigars lead a Virginia man to win $500,000 worth of lottery

Buying cigars lead a Virginia man to win $500,000 worth of lottery, the winner of the lottery is now $500k times richer than before. 

Sherod Hawkins, of Palmyra, Virginia, won $500,000 playing the Virginia Lottery’s Payday Bonus scratcher ticket game, according to a Virginia Lottery press release.

"I looked up and saw that ticket," Hawkins said in a statement. "I said, ‘Okay, let’s go ahead and get it.’"

"I thought, ‘Wait a minute. This can’t be right,’" he said.

He took his cigars and ticket back to his car and scratched the ticket, the press release said. Then, he saw that he had won the game’s top prize.