LINCOLN, Neb.-Douglas Armbruster of Gurley won $50,000 playing the Cash Crush Scratch game from the Nebraska Lottery.
Armbruster purchased his winning ticket at Git ‘N Split #55 at 1145 Illinois St. in Sidney.
While he’d purchased his winning ticket two weeks before, Armbruster and his wife Julie said they waited until October 19 to make the long trip east to the Nebraska Lottery's Lincoln office to claim their prize to time it with a visit to see their daughter in Omaha.
Armbruster said he’d been on a break and bought a couple Scratch tickets to pass the time. His first ticket wasn’t a winner, but when he scratched off the second ticket, he revealed the top prize.
“It surprised the heck out of me,” he said.
Armbruster said he’s still thinking about what they’re going to do with the money.
He said he usually sticks to Scratch tickets that are $5 or below and said he’s never bought a $20 ticket before.
“I don’t know,” he said. “Might try one or two of them now.”
A $5 Scratch game, Cash Crush offers players a chance to win prizes from a free $5 ticket to $50,000. The chances of winning $50,000 are one in 96,000, while the odds of winning any prize are one in 3.60.
The mission of the Nebraska Lottery is to generate proceeds for good causes while providing quality entertainment options to Nebraskans. Over $793 million has been raised for the Nebraska Lottery’s beneficiary funds since the Lottery began in 1993. All 93 counties in Nebraska have benefited from projects funded with these Nebraska Lottery proceeds.