A losing scratch-off ticket turned out to be a $1 million winner for one central Arkansas woman, lottery officials said Monday.
In a news release, Arkansas Scholarship Lottery officials said they tried to contact 34-year-old Bridget Putt of Cabot last weekm but her phone number had changed, and she didn't check her email.
On Saturday, she received a letter from the lottery informing her of the win, the release states.
“I thought it might be a scam,” Putt said in a statement, adding that she confirmed the phone number was correct three times before calling the lottery Monday morning.
She told officials she hadn't slept since the discovery.
According to the release, the reality of being a millionaire "hasn't really sunk in" for Putt, she said.
She plans on using the prize to buy a new car and to travel, adding that she wants to visit her brother in Florida.
She also told lottery officials that she and her 13-year-old son will now be able to move out of the house they have been sharing with her parents.
Non-winning tickets from instant games can be entered into a drawing for a second chance to win, according to the lottery's website.
Sixty-three people have won prizes of $1 million or more since the lottery's creation in 2009, officials said.