Soon-to-be father from Miami-Dade secures $1M Florida lottery prize ahead of holidays
A soon-to-be father from Miami-Dade County won $1 million playing a Florida Lottery scratch-off game ahead of the holidays, the agency said Wednesday in an email.
Christian Lainez claimed the top prize at the Lottery’s headquarters in Tallahassee and the 29-year-old chose to receive his winnings as a one-time, lump-sum payment of $795,000, according to the agency.
The soon-to-be father told the Lottery he wants to buy a house for his growing family as his wife is pregnant with their first baby.
“Now instead of renting another apartment, we can buy our first home together and get everything ready before the baby arrives!” he told the Lottery.
Lainez purchased his winning ticket from a Shell gas station located at 3500 Red Road in Miramar. The retailer will receive a $2,000 bonus commission for selling the winning scratch-off ticket, the Lottery said.
Scratch-off games are an important part of the Lottery’s portfolio of games, making approximately 75% of ticket sales and generating more than $1.3 billion for the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund in fiscal year 2020-21, the Lottery added.
This story was originally published December 15, 2021 at 6:56 PM.
