January 20, 2012
Columbus couple excited to be mortgage–free after win
INDIANAPOLIS – A Columbus man couldn’t believe what he was seeing when he scratched off a $50,000 prize on a Hoosier Lottery ticket. Robert Sprague did a double-take when the prize appeared on the Break the Bank Scratch-off he was playing.
“I looked twice,” said Sprague. “I thought ‘there’s a lot of zeros there.’”
Sprague’s big win came courtesy of $40 in winnings he had just won on the same game. He used his winnings to purchase a few more Break the Bank Scratch-offs at Circle K at 4005 25th Street in Columbus.
“He’s been on a roll,” said Sprague’s wife Linda as the pair waited for Robert’s winnings at Hoosier Lottery Headquarters Thursday.
The Spragues are lifelong Hoosiers. They have three grown children and six grandchildren in the Columbus area. Robert has been in business as an independent insurance broker for more than 40 years. They plan to pay off their mortgage with their winnings. “It will be very nice, a big relief,” said Linda Sprague.
The Hoosier Lottery is committed to providing innovative and entertaining lottery games for the benefit of the citizens of Indiana. In fiscal year 2011, the Hoosier Lottery generated $188 million in net income which was used to significantly reduce the motor vehicle excise tax for all Hoosier drivers and also supported the pension funds for retired Indiana teachers, police and firefighters. Player prizes for the fiscal year totaled $495 million and $56 million was earned by Indiana retailers on the sale of Hoosier Lottery products.
Since its inception in 1989, the Hoosier Lottery has produced nearly $4 billion in net income for the citizens of Indiana, nearly $1 billion in commissions and bonuses for participating Indiana retailers, and has paid out more than $8.4 billion in player prizes.
The Hoosier Lottery reminds all players to play responsibly and to always sign the back of their tickets.
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For more information, please contact Al Larsen at alarsen@hoosierlottery.com or 317-264-4805.
Photo: Linda and Robert Sprague at Hoosier Lottery Headquarters Jan. 19.