Emptying Out a Coin Jar Results in $1 Million Prize

Wanting to cash in a jar of coins that he had been accumulating, Gary Proulx of Billerica ended up with a lot more cash than he expected after purchasing a twenty-dollar “$10,000,000 Big Money” instant ticket and becoming the first $1 million prize winner in the new game that went on sale September 15.

Proulx went into the Stop & Shop store located at 905 Mass. Ave. in Arlington to cash in his coins. After completing that transaction, his initial plan was to purchase two $10 instant tickets from the Lottery’s in-store vending machine, but ended up going to the service counter, where he changed his mind and asked for one of the new $20 instant tickets, which turned out to be his lucky ticket.

Proulx chose to receive his prize in annual payments of $50,000 (before taxes) over 20 years. He plans on saving his winnings for future travel and retirement. Stop & Shop will receive a $10,000 retailer bonus for its sale.

The “$10,000,000 Big Money” instant game offers over $400 million in cash prizes. There are four $10 million prizes and fourteen $1 million prizes remaining in the game.

Information and Photo Credit: Massachusetts Lottery