Winner can return home debt-free thanks to prize money

By Kate Northrop

ADAIRVILLE, Ky. — A Tennessee man jokingly said he'd never eat bologna ever again if he won a million dollars in the lottery and won a $1 million prize immediately after saying it.

While he may have said it in jest, the fact of the matter is that it remains to be seen whether one Tennessee man sticks to his word after saying he'd swear off bologna if he won a million dollars in the lottery.

A Springfield, Tennessee resident named Jody, who requested his last name be kept private, said his father visited Adairville Market on South Main Street on June 8. While there, his father decided to buy a $20 "$1,000,000 Casino Nights" scratch-off ticket and play it in the store.

"I said [to the clerk], 'If I hit this million dollars, I ain't ever eating bologna again,'" the father recalled to the Kentucky Lottery.

The win that followed was nearly instant. Jody's father revealed three matching key symbols next to the top prize amount within just the first couple rows of the ticket.

"It kind of shocked me," he continued.

Jody received a call from his father immediately after he won.

"He went, 'You'll never believe what I just did,'" Jody said. "And, I said, 'What?' He said, 'We just won $1 million!' I was sitting there thinking, 'Yeah right, I don't believe you!'"

Jody's father drove to his son's home just to prove it in person. Sure enough, the pair made plans to visit Lottery headquarters in Louisville that Monday to claim it.

Winning the lottery, however, doesn't do the chores. Jody spent the rest of the weekend taking care of outstanding housework and got on the lawnmower to mow his yard.

When Jody and his father showed up on June 10 to claim the prize, Jody opted to receive it as a $700,000 lump sum cash option. The winnings will give them plenty of breathing room and will leave them debt-free. After taxes, Jody received a check for $504,000.

"Houses are paid off. Cars paid off, done," Jody concluded. "We will be bill-free probably next week. You become debt-free, and you don't have any bills."

The rest of the prize will be invested, Jody said.

Adairville Market receives a check for $7,000 for selling the winning ticket.

Jody and his father won the first $1 million top prize in the $20 "$1,000,000 Casino Nights" scratch-off game. Now, there are two more top prizes remaining, as well as ten second-tier prizes of $10,000 and 21 third-tier prizes of $5,000.

The odds of winning any prize in the game, which launched in May, are 1 in 2.74.

(Click to display full-size in gallery)The actual winning ticket that will challenge winner Jody's promise to swear off bologna.