Missourians are capturing lottery winnings in unforgettable ways. Here are some of their stories
The curated articles describe surprising Missouri lottery wins that often happen in unexpected ways. Many winners react with disbelief. Most make plans for the prize money that affect their families or friends.
A Missouri woman stopped at a gas station to help a plant and ended up buying a $100,000 scratch-off ticket.
A player in St. Louis let a store clerk choose his ticket and scratched off a $2 million prize. One Kansas City winner had to prove his $55,558 win to his disbelieving girlfriend by returning to the store.
A man in St. Charles thought he won $5,000, but realized he actually won $50,000 after double-checking his ticket. These stories reveal chance encounters and small decisions that led to significant lottery wins.
NO. 1: LOTTERY PLAYER THOUGHT HE WAS SEEING THINGS AFTER SCRATCHING THREE TICKETS IN MISSOURI
“I didn’t know if I was seeing things,” the man said. | Published May 20, 2024 | Read Full Story by Jennifer Rodriguez
NO. 2: ‘PLANT EMERGENCY’ LEADS TO MISSOURI WOMAN WINNING HUGE LOTTERY PRIZE
The woman was trying to save a dying plant when she bought the winning ticket. | Published July 16, 2024 | Read Full Story by Jennifer Rodriguez
NO. 3: VACATIONERS WERE ‘SITTING PRETTY’ WITH LOTTERY WIN. LAST 2 NUMBERS HAD THEM ‘IN AWE’
The wife read off the winning numbers as her husband carefully checked their Michigan ticket. It was a winner. | Published July 26, 2024 | Read Full Story by Kate Linderman
NO. 4: RETIREE MEETS FRIENDS AT BAR IMMEDIATELY AFTER HUGE LOTTERY WIN. ‘DON’T TELL ANYBODY’
“I don’t have to worry about anything,” the 71-year-old Iowa winner told lottery officials. | Published October 17, 2024 | Read Full Story by Lauren Liebhaber
NO. 5: LOTTERY PLAYER THINKS HE WON $5,000 ON FORGOTTEN MISSOURI TICKET — THEN SEES MISTAKE
“I think I just won,” he told a gas station clerk after he scratched off his forgotten ticket. | Published November 11, 2024 | Read Full Story by Kate Linderman
NO. 6: MEGA MILLIONS PLAYER JUST MISSES $387 MILLION JACKPOT IN MISSOURI — BUT STILL WINS BIG
The ticket matched five winning numbers but not the Mega Ball. | Published November 17, 2024 | Read Full Story by Don Sweeney
NO. 7: MAN LETS STORE CLERK PICK SCRATCH-OFF GAME IN MISSOURI, AND NOW HE’S A MILLIONAIRE
“I looked at it at least 30 times to make sure it was real,” he said. | Published December 31, 2024 | Read Full Story by Jennifer Rodriguez
NO. 8: LOTTERY PLAYER’S ‘MOUTH DROPPED OPEN’ WHEN MISSOURI WIN WAS REVEALED. ‘WE’RE RICH!’
The mother said she had the ticket on her nightstand for two weeks before she finally scratched it off. | Published February 19, 2025 | Read Full Story by Mike Stunson
NO. 9: POWERBALL PLAYER JUST MISSES $265 MILLION JACKPOT — BUT STILL WINS BIG IN MISSOURI
The ticket matched four of five winning numbers and the Powerball, lottery officials say. | Published March 2, 2025 | Read Full Story by Don Sweeney
NO. 10: KANSAS CITY AREA LOTTERY PLAYER WINS BIG. HIS GIRLFRIEND DIDN’T BELIEVE HIM
“I had to take her to the store and when they showed her, that’s when she really realized." | Published June 16, 2025 | Read Full Story by Joseph Hernandez
The summary above was drafted with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists in our News division. All stories listed were reported, written and edited by McClatchy journalists.