Couple wins $1 million in Florida lottery — weeks before baby is born. ‘Huge relief’
.jpg "An expectant dad won a big Florida lottery prize weeks before welcoming a baby boy.")
A couple won a massive lottery prize — just weeks before their baby was born.
“Our lottery win has been such a huge relief for us,” winners Victoria Oakley and John Stanhill told the Florida Lottery. “We’ve been able to fully focus on being new parents by putting our financial worries at ease.”
The couple hit the jackpot after Stanhill stopped at Duval Exxon, a gas station in Jacksonville Beach. He spent $50 on a scratch-off ticket and discovered it was worth $1 million, lottery officials wrote in a June 11 news release.
“This just couldn’t have happened at a better time,” said Stanhill, a 46-year-old Jacksonville resident.
That’s because he won big in 500X the Cash game less than a month before he and Oakley’s first child was due.
“We won the lottery — and then we won the lottery again with our beautiful, healthy baby boy,” Oakley said. “All in three weeks’ time!”
Stanhill, now busy caring for the couple’s newborn, chose to take his prize as a lump-sum payment of $640,000. The new parents already have put some of the money toward their child’s education.
“We were able to start a college fund for our baby and plan on paying off student loans,” the couple said. “We are over the moon with everything that’s happened!”
It’s not the first time an expectant parent scored a windfall. A pregnant lottery player thought she won a small prize in Iowa, but her ticket was worth much more, McClatchy News reported in September.
This story was originally published June 12, 2024 at 12:43 PM with the headline "Couple wins $1 million in Florida lottery — weeks before baby is born. ‘Huge relief’."
