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Man waiting to cash in $1,000 lottery ticket wins another $177,777

A Virginia man waiting for state lottery customer service centers to reopen so he could collect a $1,000 jackpot ended up winning another $177,777 from a second ticket. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI
A Virginia man waiting for state lottery customer service centers to reopen so he could collect a $1,000 jackpot ended up winning another $177,777 from a second ticket. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

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May 8 (UPI) -- A Virginia man waiting to cash in his $1,000 winning lottery ticket ended up winning an additional $177,777 before collecting his prize.

Jeff Melick of Newport News told Virginia Lottery officials he was waiting until the lottery's customer service centers reopened to cash in his $1,000 winning scratch-off ticket when he purchased a Lucky 7s Tripler ticket.

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The ticket turned out to be a $177,777 top prize winner.

"I kind of went numb," Melick said. "I was doing good with the $1,000 winner."

Melick said he plans to use some of his winnings to pay it forward by taking care of strangers' purchases at his local convenience store.

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