Stephen Espinoza hit the jackpot, LITERALLY!
Espinoza is a true example of how kindness is always rewarded. In the Publix grocery store on NE 5th Avenue in Delray Beach, Stephen was waiting to purchase a lottery ticket when someone rudely cut the line ahead of him. Rather than getting angry and confronting the person, Stephen just shrugged it off and switched to the customer service counter.
As fate would have it, his selfless gesture paid off with unexpected dividends. He purchased a $50 “500x The Cash” scratch-off ticket, only to hit the game’s second-best prize of $1 million!
With odds stacked against him at 0.00000373%, Stephen’s reward for being courteous serves as an inspiring reminder that good things can happen to those who practice good deeds, regardless of their luckiness.
“It was the end of a long day, and I was tired,” Espinoza told the FL Lottery. “I stopped at Publix and was about to buy a ticket at the machine when a man cut right in front of me.”
Espinoza’s Net Payout
Espinoza’s stroke of luck was made even sweeter by the fact that Florida does not tax lottery winnings, unlike 36 other states. Although this meant his money could be kept untaxed, it meant Espinoza had to reveal his identity to collect his prize – something he seemed more than happy to do.
However, this Florida gambling winnings will still be subject to the 37% federal income tax rate (for earners who make more than $539,901 or more in a single), because he opted for a one-time lump-sum payout
Despite handing over a massive chunk of that money to federal tax, Espinoza took home an impressive $516,600 net payout.
Espinoza plans on using some of the winnings to buy a home for his family, and the Publix that sold the ticket received an extra bonus as compensation from the Florida Lottery. Ultimately, one very fortunate man’s good fortune has brought some extra benefits to both himself and his local community.
Bigger Lottery Jackpots
The Florida Lottery offers a wide range of scratch-off tickets to the public, ranging from $1 all the way up to its top tier $50 “500x The Cash” product.
For those looking for even bigger rewards, you could always take a look at Texas’ “$20 Million Supreme” game, which retails for $100 per ticket and offers bigger winnings than ever before. With prizes ranging from $150 at the very least, all the way up to an incredible $20 million, this is certainly one lottery you won’t want to miss out on.
Each print of this exciting game comes with four separate chances at nabbing one of those huge $20 million prizes – and with odds of just 1 in 2.55 million, it’s not as farfetched as you’d perhaps think.