Crossing state lines for years has finally paid off
By Kate Northrop
CAMPBELLTON, Fla. — After over three decades of crossing state lines to play the Florida Lottery, an Alabama man can finally return home with a $1 million prize.
Yesterday, the Florida Lottery announced that a $1 million second-tier prize from the $50 "500X The Cash" scratch-off game was claimed by an Alabama resident — Thomas Fotopoulos, 53, of Dothan.
Fotopoulos has always been a longtime Florida Lottery player, having been buying tickets in the Sunshine State since 1988.
"I've been playing the Florida Lottery since it began," the winner said in a press release. "I just had a feeling about the '500X The Cash' game. I still can't believe it!"
"500X The Cash" is the Florida Lottery's most expensive game at $50 a ticket. As the only $50 game in the lottery's portfolio, it offers a $25 million top prize.
Fotopoulos bought his $1 million winning ticket at Fortune Liquors on Highway 231 in Campbellton, a retailer that sits immediately right over the Alabama-Florida border and is about a 20-minute drive from Dothan, Alabama. Fortune Liquors receives a $2,000 bonus commission for selling the winning ticket.
After visiting Lottery headquarters in Tallahassee, the Alabama resident chose to receive his prize as a one-time lump sum payment of $820,000 before taxes.
He hardly made a dent in the number of $1 million second-tier prizes left in the game — there are still 83 out of 160 second-tier prizes left to claim. One of the two top prizes of $25 million remain, as well as 155 out of 300 third-tier prizes of $50,000. The game was released in February, when the trend of pricey tickets began taking off with multiple state lotteries.
There are no "break-even" base prizes in the "500X The Cash" game, with the lowest-tier prize starting at $100. According to the Lottery, the game offers the best odds to becoming an instant millionaire with the overall odds of winning at 1 in 4.5.
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Congrats on your win Thomas.
Sweet Home Alabama Where the skies are so blue Sweet Home Alabama Lord, I'm comin' home to you Here I come, Alabama
Congratulations Thomas Fotopoulos!
That don't sound like no Alabama name though.
You should change it to Leroy Jenkins!
It's unfortunate that check won't fit through the tellers aperture.
He finally brought in a big fish after all these years.
I have been looking at Lottery winner's pictures for years, and I must say Thomas has the happiest smile I have ever seen from a winner. What a delight......so happy for him.
Thank you, all! I hope you experience a big win!!!!
I wish we wouldn't be seeing his face at all because Florida can (but won't) do way better than the BS 90 day anonymity bill they recently passed.
Ranting aside, yes he looks very happy and congrats to him on his long awaited win!
okay. SMILES AND ALL...Thomas plays 30 years times $50 a week = 52x30x50 = estimated 75,000 to $100,000
Now lets take the other 1 Million players estimated in just one state who did the same thing but never win.
I am one of these...That's a total 1 Billion estimates money invested and spent in the state of Florida who never won anything. and who have shared now there money with Thomas, generously enough, but not directly.
If we can say were happy for him, but can we say we are happy for US, the USA or the government TAX lawyers.
If we add in the 200,000 the government takes off this winner, and the inflation rate of 100,000 from 1988 to now we can see the actual return on this investment is probably about 5 to 1, which for THOMAS is still very good.
But for US HUMAN BEINGS and STATE FRIENDS, we have supported next to nothing, and given a whole lot to something which we really do not benefit from, except it is a fun game to play (sometimes) and entertainment.
Thomas life wont change much, and 1 million is not much in the estimate to even have a retirement nest egg.
Now if Thomas has a choice, as we all do. Its free America? or is it. Think about it. If the winners fund was created to get this gambling license and lottery fun'ding operating at least sharing real benefit to the whole state, and perhaps stop the illegal gambling operations of the government /business from legislating our every move, controlling property, and investment and income taxing at full throttle, generally creating people addicted to lawyers guns money sex drugs and electronics (see social phone media if you don't believe me) and occupied by religions social convention language and war or politic news and humans behaving badly, in the most highly limited fashion, and also HELPING out the 120 million orphan children on the planet, now we could say WE ARE HAPPY and truly PROSPEROUS...HEY Paneaglesong
Great tune...
That is one happy guy, congrats Thomas, enjoy.
Well at least he finally got all his money back and then some.