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March 14, 2024

Two Arkansans Win Big Playing Instant Games; Play It Again Winner Claims $250,000 Prize

LITTLE ROCK, Ark.

Arkansans continue to win big this week as two instant game winners and one Play It Again® winner claim prizes in the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery Claim Center.

P. Lewis of Little Rock won a $300,000 lottery prize playing the $10 Big X instant game. She claimed her prize on March 11.

The winning ticket was sold at Ziya & Zayn 786 LLC on 5105 W. 65th St. in Little Rock.

Lewis, a frequent lottery player with a preference for instant games, was on her way home from church when she decided to play the lottery.

“Something just said stop and buy a ticket,” Lewis said.

Following her intuition, Lewis purchased three Big X tickets and scratched them off in her car. The first two, she noted, were duds, but she held out hope for the third. As luck would have it, the very last row of her last ticket awarded her the $300,000 top prize. She had to check her ticket four or five times before being truly convinced.

“Lord, thank you!” the winner said.

Thus far, Lewis has only shared the news with her brother. With her prize, she wants to purchase a home and a new vehicle, as well as take care of her granddaughter.

Another Arkansan, R. Penaloza of Stuttgart, won $200,000 playing the $10 Jumbo Bucks Extra instant game. She claimed her prize on March 11.

The winning ticket was purchased at Stuttgart Kwik Mart Inc. on 195 S. Park Ave. in Stuttgart.

Penaloza plays lottery games a few times a week, usually with a bundle of scratch-off tickets that her husband purchases for the whole family. This time, a winning Jumbo Bucks Extra ticket just so happened to be hidden in the mix. After scratching off the ticket at home, Penaloza asked her husband to confirm the unbelievable: she had won the $200,000 top prize.

“I cried, and he cried,” the Stuttgart resident said. “I just couldn’t believe it.”

So far, Penaloza has only shared the good news with her husband and a family friend. She hopes to buy a new home with her prize.

One top prize remains for the Jumbo Bucks Extra instant game.

A third winner, V. Grandy of Pine Bluff, claimed a $250,000 prize for the Feb. 29 Play It Again drawing. Her win came from the $5 Ultimate 7’s ticket, and she claimed her prize on March 12.

Grandy discovered her win after a call from the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery. Only an occasional lottery player, the Pine Bluff woman had ignored a previous congratulatory notification, thinking it was a scam.

“It’s just hard to believe,” Grandy said, overwhelmed. “This is more money than I ever had, even working two jobs.”

The Pine Bluff woman immediately shared the news with her family, who now also plan to submit their own unlucky tickets to The Club.

With more than 339,000 registered members, The Club offers players a chance to submit their non-winning tickets to earn points and enter Play It Again drawings. Players can join by visiting MyArkansasLottery.com or downloading the official AR Lottery + Club app and clicking “The Club.”

With her prize, Grandy plans to pay bills and help her children.

Visit TheClub.aslplayerservices.com/drawings to see the date and prize for the next Play It Again drawing and which games will be included. For more information on other 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 $7.2 billion and returned more than $1.3 billion for scholarships to benefit Arkansas students. More than 720,000 college scholarships distributed by the Arkansas Department of Higher Education have been awarded to Arkansans. The lottery has awarded more than $4.9 billion in prizes to players, more than $409 million in retailer commissions, and provided more than $175 million in state and federal tax revenue.

Follow the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery on FacebookTwitter 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.

P. Lewis, a Little Rock resident, won $300,000 playing Big X.

Stuttgart resident R. Penaloza won $200,000 playing the Jumbo Bucks Extra instant game.

V. Grandy of Pine Bluff won $250,000 in the Feb. 29 Play It Again drawing.