Terrific tip turns into $50,000 Father’s Day win in Taney County

A Missouri Lottery player’s customer service paid off in more ways than one after he uncovered a $50,000 prize on a “$250 Million Extravaganza” Scratchers ticket purchased at Ruby’s Food & Fuel, 2176 Highway 248, in Branson.

He shared that he occasionally plays Lottery games, but he rarely purchases $50 Scratchers tickets like “$250 Million Extravaganza.” That is, until he encountered some very generous customers during a recent holiday weekend.

“I work in the service industry, and this couple tipped me $200 cash and said, ‘Happy Father’s Day,’” he recalled. “I took the gift that they paid to me and thought, ‘Well, I never do it,’ so I went big.”

After opening Father’s Day presents at home, he sat down to reveal yet another special surprise when he scratched the ticket.

“I got to the bottom, and it said ‘50X’ and I was like, ‘Oh, it’ll probably be like 10 bucks, like $500 or something like that,” he chuckled. “But it turned out to be $50,000!”

As for his winnings, he plans to pay off a few bills and invest the rest.

To date, players have won more than $89.2 million in prizes on the “$250 Million Extravaganza” Scratchers ticket. There are 33 additional $50,000 prizes and two $5 million top prizes currently unclaimed.

In FY25, Taney County players won more than $12 million in Missouri Lottery prizes, retailers received more than $991,000 in commissions and bonuses, and more than $3 million in Lottery proceeds went to education programs in the county.