Scratch-off ticket earns Tell City woman $77,777

INDIANAPOLIS – Joann Schroeder doesn’t really know why she bought a $5 7s Series Hoosier Lottery scratch-off ticket Sunday morning, but she’s very happy she did.

On the ticket Schroeder bought was a $77,777 top prize, which she claimed Feb. 13 at Hoosier Lottery Headquarters in Indianapolis. Her winnings were made public Friday through a press release.

“It just caught my eye. Usually I don’t buy $5 tickets, but for whatever reason, I bought this one,” said Schroeder, who purchased her lucky ticket at Gas & Stuff at 1046 North Luther Road in Georgetown.

“My husband and I stopped at the gas station, bought some tickets, but didn’t scratch them off until we got home,” said Schroeder. “Once I scratched it, I looked down at it and was very, very excited when I saw the numbers match. I said, ‘Could it really be this easy?’ I guess it can be.”

Schroeder, a lifelong Tell City resident, said she and her husband, Bill, plan to pay off a few bills and then plan to share their good fortune with their four children and 10 grandchildren.