Father, daughter from Hazard both win big Kentucky Lottery prizes 3 months apart

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- There's a family in eastern Kentucky that makes winning the lottery look easy.

William Fannin and his daughter Starla both won the Kentucky Lottery within three months of each other.

William purchased a Powerball ticket at Zip Zone on East Main Street in Hazard for the May 13 drawing. His ticket matched four white ball numbers to win the game's $50,000 prize.

He's been playing the Powerball every week for the last 25 years, purchasing his tickets from the same store. But this time, he stopped at Zip Zone.

Starla, who won $150,438.47 playing the Merry Money Bonus Jackpot Instant Play game online in February, learned about the winning $50,000 Powerball ticket in Hazard.

"She texted her mom about it but said, 'it wasn’t sold where dad normally buys his tickets, so it can’t be him,'" William said to Kentucky Lottery officials.

William took his ticket to the store the next morning to have it scanned. That's when he found out he won $50,000.

"I was numb," William said.

He left the store to share the news with his wife, Frieda.

"I told her, 'sit down,'" William said.

Frieda asked, "Are you okay, what’s wrong?"

"That winning ticket was ours, it belonged to us," William said.

Then they both cried.

The Hazard couple left the Kentucky Lottery headquarters with a check for $36,000 after taxes on May 17. Although Starla wasn't able to visit lottery headquarters in May, it was a familiar trip for the family.

"She was probably more tickled than me," William said. "She was so excited."

William worked as a teacher for 33 years and coached high school basketball. The Perry County couple doesn't have plans for the winnings, but the extra money will help after retiring four years ago.

Zip Zone will receive $500 for selling the winning ticket.

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