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There was no chocolate, jewelry or fancy dinner involved, but one Virginia woman may have just received the greatest Valentine’s Day present of all time: a scratch ticket worth $10 million.
Maria Chicas of Haymarket, Virginia told local lottery officials she was skeptical when her husband presented her with a scratch ticket and told her the life changing amount of money it was worth.
"I thought he was joking," Chicas told lottery officials as she validated her winning ticket.
It was no laughing matter, however, as the stay-at-home mom claimed the fourth and final top prize in the Extreme Millions scratch game.
Chicas had the choice of taking the full $10 million over 30 years or a one-time cash option of roughly $6.5 million before taxes. She chose the cash option. The store receives a $50,000 bonus from the Virginia Lottery for selling the winning ticket.
The odds of winning that top prize in Extreme Millions were about 1 in 2.9 million.