Husband one-ups his partner, but in a good way

By Kate Northrop

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — After an Arkansas woman won a lucky $50 prize in the lottery, her husband, inspired by the win, scooped up a $200,000 prize in the same game the very next day.

An Arkansas man was motivated by his wife's $50 lottery win to buy some more tickets of his own, and in doing so won an even bigger prize in the exact same game just one day later.

In April, E. Withers caught wind from his wife that she had won a $50 prize on a $10 "Ultimate Riches" scratch-off game. A daily lottery player himself, he's consistently played that game since it launched in October 2024 but had no luck landing a big prize.

His wife's win in the game inspired him to try again. Feeling that itch to play, he visited Roosevelt Shell on East Roosevelt Road in Little Rock and picked up another $10 "Ultimate Riches" ticket the next day.

The Pulaski County resident returned to his car and started playing the game right away. It wasn't long before he realized his efforts paid off — the very first row revealed a $200,000 top prize.

"I was so surprised because I just couldn't believe it," Withers told the Arkansas Lottery. "I kept looking at the winning numbers thinking, 'Well, it has to be right!'"

Despite the satisfaction of finally achieving his goal, he steeled his nerves and drove home to share the news of his own win with his wife.

"Oh, she didn't believe me!" Withers laughed with Lottery officials.

It was only when Withers showed her the winning ticket that she was fully convinced.

Withers claimed his prize at the Arkansas Lottery Claim Center in Little Rock on April 17. As of now, there are no more $200,000 top prizes left to claim in the $10 "Ultimate Riches" scratch-off game, but over $790,000 in prizes remain. That includes one out of two second-tier prizes of $10,000 and one out of two third-tier prizes of $5,000.

The overall odds of winning any prize in the game are 1 in 3.02.