Happy birthday! Louisville man scores big with scratch-off he picked based on his birthdate

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Louisville man credits his birthday for winning $77,777 on a Kentucky Lottery scratch-off ticket.

The man, who asked to remain anonymous, won $77,777 on a 777 Scratch-off ticket June 7. Kentucky Lottery said the winning ticket was purchased at the Hillview Kroger in Louisville.

The man is a frequent lottery player but has never won a top prize. He purchased a $5 scratch-off at a vending machine and quickly scanned the barcode to see if he had won.

"I already knew it was a big one," he said.

He started to scratch the ticket and only saw a couple of seven symbols on the ticket. But he continued to uncover more.

"I got to four and five (seven symbols),” he said. "I was like, 'Oh, this is pretty real.' Then the last number in the right corner was a seven."

He initially thought he won $7,777 but then scratched off the back of the ticket.

"I really just looked at it and was like, 'Oh my gosh,'" he said. "There was a lady scratching next to me and she said, 'What?' And, I said, 'I don’t know if I should say, but I just won the jackpot on this.'"

The vending machine screen then read "See Kentucky Lottery Corporation," which he showed to the woman next to him.

"She said, 'I knew I should have played on that machine,'" the winner said.

He left the store and kept the winning ticket in a safe spot before claiming the win June 10. The man won the 777 Scratch-off top prize June 7. His birthday is July 7.

"I always kind of felt partial to the ticket because of that," he said. "But did I ever in a million years think that I would actually hit one of those jackpots?"

He plans to use the winnings to pay off his truck and home renovations.

"I’m just going to be thankful that there’s not much concern," he said. "I’m happy to have that worry free feeling again."

He walked way with a check for $55,999.44 after taxes. Kroger will receive $777.77 for selling the winning ticket.

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