Vince Palumbo

Vince Palumbo of Louisville won $50,000 playing the Kentucky Lottery's $50 500X Scratch-off. 

Palumbo stopped at Cox’s Smokers Outlet and while he was checking out, one of the Scratch-offs caught his eye. So last minute, he asked the clerk to also give him one 500X Scratch-off out of the dispenser. 

“The last few times I had played, I noticed that the number 13 kept coming up," Palumbo said. "When I went to scratch this ticket, the first one I scratched was the number 13 and I won $100." 

Palumbo went on to scratch the next two spots and won $100, then $500. "That's when I thought, 'I just hit the big payday!'" He then added up his wins but went into a store to scan his ticket to see how much he won, and the machine displayed $50,000. 

“I just said, ‘No way. No way. I couldn't believe it,’" he said. "I had to go outside to calm down."

When given his large check, Palumbo told lottery officials, "I've been waiting my whole life for this."

He plans to pay off some land he owns and might get a new motorcycle with his winnings.

To see how to play Scratch-offs, visit https://bit.ly/3E0YU11.