Kansas woman converts $15 lottery win into $30,000 jackpot

Sept. 26 (UPI) — A Kansas woman who won $15 on a lottery scratch-off ticket decided to spend her winnings on more tickets — and won $30,000.

Judy Knable of Topeka told Kansas Lottery officials she won $15 Friday night on a $5 Birthday Bash scratch-off ticket and stopped at the store to cash it the next morning.

“After winning $15 Friday night, I decided to stop by Kwik Shop the next morning before I went to work to cash in the ticket,” Knable said. “When the store clerk validated the ticket, she asked me if I wanted three more tickets or $15 in cash. I decided to go ahead and get three more of the Birthday Bash tickets since I had luck playing it.”

Knable said she waited until she was at work to scratch her new tickets.

“When I scratched the second one, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I’d won $30,000! If the store clerk hadn’t asked me if I wanted more tickets, I would have taken the $15 in cash, and I wouldn’t have won. I had the most nerve-wracking weekend I’ve ever had. Where do you put a $30,000 winning ticket? I was in panic mode. After signing the back of the ticket, I put it in my purse and didn’t let it out of my sight,” she said.

Knable and her husband, Derrek, said they plan to use the winnings to pay off their credit cards.