Waltham School Bus Driver Wins $1 Million In Lottery

WALTHAM, MA — You know how sometimes you can misread something, or misunderstand rules and it changes everything? Well for one Waltham resident a small misunderstanding turned out to be A-OK in the end. Edward Boudreau of Waltham walked out of the Highlander Convenience Store on Waltham with a ticket to win it last week. And win it he did. His $10 ticket turned into $ 10,000 instantly. Or so he thought.

But when he made his way to the Massachusetts State Lottery’s Woburn regional office to claim said prize, he found out he didn't actually win $10,000. He'd won a $1,000,000 prize, the officials told him after looking at his ticket.

Take a second to imagine what that might feel like.

One trip to the Lottery’s Braintree headquarters, where the big prizes are awarded, later and Boudreau, a school bus driver, walked out with enough money for a new house.

Boudreau won his prize in the Lottery’s “$2,000,000 50X Cashword” instant ticket game in which prizes are won based on the number of words that are revealed. Ten words in one puzzle box results in a $10,000 prize, while 11 words yields a $1,000,000 prize.

Boudreau opted to receive his prize in the form of a one-time payment of $650,000 (less tax withholdings). His winning ticket was purchased at Highlander Convenience Store, 251 High St. in Waltham. The store will receive a $10,000 bonus for its sale.

One $2 million prize and three additional $1 million prizes still remain in the “$2,000,000 50X Cashword” instant game, according to the Lottery officials.

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Photo courtesy Mass Lotto.