Extra Cash Turns Into Lottery Jackpot For Vernon Resident

VERNON, CT — The thought of winning a big prize off a Connecticut Lottery scratch ticket became a reality for Lauren McKenna of Vernon — with some spare cash at that.

McKenna and her co-workers were having a conversation about how nice it would be to win $10,000. After a moment of thought, she told them, "I would be just as happy to win $1,000."

As fate would have it, McKenna didn't win $1,000. She didn't win $10,000, either. Instead, McKenna won a $30,000 top prize on a CT Lottery 3X Cash 9th Edition scratch ticket.

"Last Saturday, I stopped to get a cup of coffee and decided to buy a ($3) 3X Cash ticket and a couple of $1 tickets with the extra $5 I had. I don't normally play. I only picked 3X because it's a game my boyfriend likes to play," McKenna said. "When I scratched the ticket and saw matching 1s and a $30,000 prize, I thought it was a dream."

She continued, "Then I sent a picture of it to Mike."

The $30,000 prize will be certainly come in handy, especially at the holidays.

"I'll use it to buy Christmas presents and pay for bills, of course," McKenna said. "But, I'm also thinking about ways to help my parents out."

McKenna purchased the ticket at the 7-Eleven store at 180 Union St. in Vernon.