ROANOKE, Va. – Three locals took home $100,000 each after they tried their luck in the Virginia Lottery.
For Kathryn Ruffin, she was on her way to work when she decided to grab a cup of coffee and a 10X the Money lottery ticket at the JOCO Mart on Cambria Street in Christiansburg.
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When she scratched the ticket later in the day at work, she was shocked.
“It was surreal,” said Ruffin. “I kept thinking, ‘Did this really happen?’”
Ruffin took home the top prize, and beat the 1 in 1,571,714 odds.
Diane DeHaven of Wirtz was so sure that she did not have a winning ticket, she had the clerk at Stop In Food Store on Roanoke’s Franklin Road double check it. To her surprise, she won $100,000.
DeHaven matched all five winning numbers in the New Year’s Eve drawing and won the game’s top prize.
“It feels pretty cool. I still can’t believe it!” said DeHaven.
DeHaven chose the numbers 3-5-7-21-29 by using family birthdays.
DeHaven said she is going to use her winnings to pay bills and save.
Using family birthdays also worked out for Roanoker Edward Trent, who won the Cash 5 top prize on Jan. 2.
Trent bought his winning ticket at Nishi Food Mart on Bennington Street in northeast Roanoke and won with the numbers 5-7-12-17-18.
Now retired, Trent says it “feels pretty good” to win $100,000.