CHESAPEAKE, Va. — A Chesapeake woman will be kicking the new year off with half a million dollars after securing a winning scratch-off during her morning commute, the Virginia Lottery announced Friday.
Darlene Taiste made her regular coffee stop at the 7-Eleven on Nimmo Parkway in Virginia Beach where she purchased a Cash is King ticket, officials said. When she finally scratched the ticket, she learned she won $500,000.
Lottery officials said Taiste told them she's "'never won anything that big!'"
"This is the second top prize claimed in the [Cash is King] game, which means one more remains unclaimed," lottery officials said.
Cash is King is a scratcher game with prizes ranging between $30 to $500,000.
K-12 Education in Virginia receives all Virginia Lottery profits, receiving more than $867 million or approximately 10% of the state's total K-12 budget in 2023, according to the lottery. Last year, Chesapeake schools were awarded more than $27.2 million in lottery funds.