An 86-year-old Woman Won $1.5 Million on a Pennsylvania Lottery Scratch-Off

Rita Franczyk of Parks Township, Pennsylvania won $1.5 million on a scratch-off this month, at the age of 86.

She received a commemorative check from the Pennsylvania Lottery on Thursday afternoon at the Giant Eagle in Allegheny Township, the store where she bought the ticket. Employees shouted congratulations as they passed the ceremony, and some stopped to hug her.

A $30 ticket she almost did not buy

Franczyk visits the store regularly and calls it her social time. She usually picks up two $10 scratch-offs, which she describes as her little treat.

A couple of weeks ago the clerk showed her a new game the store had started stocking, a $30 Super Star.

"I said, 'whoa,'" Franczyk said about the price. "I usually buy, like, two $10 ones or something."

She bought one anyway and won $50. A few days later, back at the store, she used part of that $50 to buy a second one.

"When I scratched it, I said, 'What? No!' and I took it to (the clerk) right away," she said. "She said, 'Rita, you won $1.5 million!' She had a tear; I had a tear. We were stunned."

She called her daughter, Maryann Cecchi, straight away to tell her she was a millionaire and that she did not know how it had happened.

"I drove home," Franczyk said. "And I drove home beautifully. It's a wonder I wasn't (swerving) all over the place."

What she plans to do with it

Franczyk has three grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren, and her daughter said they are her world.

Her husband, Henry, died in 2020. The couple had moved out of their two-story home into a one-floor apartment that was easier to get around. After his death, pipes burst in the unit above hers and the apartment flooded.

"I lost everything," she said.

She has lived with her daughter and son-in-law since. The money means she can buy a place of her own again, one that suits how she gets around now.

"I would like to make a new residence for, possibly (Cecchi) and her husband and me, if they'd like to come," Franczyk said. "I'd like to buy a ranch-type, small, average home and move. That's what my little dream is."

"I'm very happy that she'll feel secure now," Cecchi said.

The game she happened to pick

The ticket was a $1,500,000 Super Star, which Pennsylvania launched on July 4. It scores 92.3 on our ValueScore™, putting it inside the 25 strongest active games in the country, with a 79.2% payout percentage and overall odds of 1 in 3.00.

Her win also moved the number. The game launched with five $1.5 million top prizes and four are left now that hers has been claimed, which nudged its score down a few points.

Franczyk intends to continue buying scratch-offs as she enjoys doing so, and said, "I don't buy the tickets to win."

Sources

TribLIVE: Parks Township woman wins $1.5M from scratch-off lottery ticket

Pennsylvania Lottery: $1,500,000 Super Star game details (PA-1790)

CBS News Pittsburgh: Pennsylvania great-grandmother wins $1.5 million on scratch-off