Lottery player wins $150k prize three months after her dad scores $50k
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A LUCKY lottery player struck gold on an online game just three months before her father also won big.
But the family of winners lost out on their lottery prizes after all was said and done.
When Starla Fannin played the Merry Money Bonus Jackpot Instant Play game online this past February, she never thought she would rake in a big win.
Merry Money Bonus Jackpot is an Instant Play game that participates in a progressive jackpot.
This means the jackpot increases each time the game is played but the jackpot is not won.
She took home a whopping $150,438.47 prize after playing the quick computer game, according to Kentucky Lottery.
But that wasn't the only big win in the Fannin family.
Three months later, her father, William Fannin tested his luck and walked away with a big win himself.
The retired teacher from Hazard, Kentucky won a $50,000 Powerball prize after buying a May 13 ticket at a gas station.
A lottery enthusiast, Fannin has been playing for the past 25 years, People reported, but instead of buying his ticket at the usual store, he decided to stop at Zip Zone gas station instead.
He described himself as "numb" when he went to scan the ticket and told Kentucky Lottery that he quickly left the store and headed home to tell his wife.
Upon arriving, Fannin instructed his wife to sit down and prepared her for the news.
"That winning ticket was ours, it belonged to us," he told her, reported People.
“And then we cried, both of us,” his wife told Kentucky Lottery.
Fannin's win was unbelievable to his daughter, who knew her father typically purchased tickets from another place.
“She texted her mom about it but said, ‘It wasn’t sold where dad normally buys his tickets, so it can’t be him,’ ” Fannin told Kentucky Lottery.
“She was probably more tickled than me,” he said, describing Starla's reaction. “She was so excited!”
Though the family won big, they walked away with less than they were originally promised after taxes.
Kentucky state authorities tax lottery wins at a fixed 24% rate.
After federal taxes were tacked on to each of their wins, the family lost a combined $50,000.
Kentucky residents who've won more than $600 in a state lottery game are also required to pay 6% of the win to the state, according to Kentucky Sports Betting.
Fannin said while the couple does not yet know what they're going to do with their win, it will be put to good use since William retired in 2020.
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