Two lucky lottery players won big playing instant games last week.

Stephen Hawkins, a resident of Goodman, MO, won $300,000 playing the $10 $300,000 Large instant game. He claimed his prize at the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery Claim Center on June 21.

The winning ticket was purchased at Tobo’s 66 on 1200 W. Wilson St. in Fayetteville.

Stephen is an almost daily lottery player with a preference for scratch-offs. He purchased the winning ticket following an unusually lucky win streak.

“Here’s what was weird about the whole deal,” the winner shared with lottery officials.

The previous week, Stephen noticed the oversized $300,000 Large instant game and decided to buy two tickets for his wife. On a whim, he purchased a ticket of his own and won a $100 prize. The following day, he bought another ticket at a different retailer and, to his amazement, won a second $100 prize.

After winning twice on the instant game, Stephen thought he would not win again but decided to try his luck once more. Fortunately, his ticket held the $300,000 top prize. 

In a state of shock, he called his wife, Pam, and said, “I don’t want you to freak out.”

Once assured that the call was good news, the pair made their way to the claim center. They plan to retire and pay off some bills with the prize.

Two top prizes remain on the $300,000 Large instant game.

Another winner, James Lee of Killeen, TX, won $50,000 playing the $20 $50,000 Blast instant game. He also claimed his prize on June 21.

The winning ticket was sold at Double Quick #90 on 571 Oakland Ave. in Helena.

James plays the lottery occasionally. After work, he stopped by the convenience store and bought the last $50,000 Blast ticket in the bin. He scratched the ticket off immediately and quickly realized he had won the $50,000 top prize.

“Wow,” James thought. He checked his ticket several times to make sure he had actually won.

So far, James has only shared the good news with one family member and does not have specific plans for his prize.

Following James’ win, two top prizes remain on the $50,000 Blast instant game.

A winning Mega Millions® ticket worth $40,000 was sold for the June 21 drawing. The winning ticket was purchased at Jordan’s Kwik Stop #65 on 1898 Highway 62 W. in Pocahontas. The winning numbers were 3, 18, 27, 40 and 44, and the Megaball® number was 19. The Megaplier® was 4.

The winner has 180 days from the draw date to claim their prize.

For more information about lottery games and how to play, visit MyArkansasLottery.com.

About the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery
The Arkansas Scholarship Lottery (ASL) creates winning people, winning futures, and winning moments. Since 2009, the ASL has sold over $7.4 billion and returned more than $1.4 billion for scholarships to benefit Arkansas students. More than 770,000 college scholarships distributed by the Arkansas Department of Higher Education have been awarded to Arkansans. The lottery has awarded more than $5 billion in prizes to players, more than $418 million in retailer commissions, and provided more than $176 million in state and federal tax revenue.

Follow the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery on Facebook, X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram. Visit MyArkansasLottery.com for more information on scholarships, winners, games, odds, promotions – and to join The Club for free. To get help with problem gambling, contact the National Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700.

Stephen Hawkins of Goodman, MO won $300,000 playing the $300,000 Large instant game. He is pictured with his wife, Pam.

James Lee of Killeen, TX won $50,000 playing $50,000 Blast.

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