A nonprofit publication of the Kentucky Center for Public Service Journalism

Kenton County man, a recent widower with four kids, wins $200K lottery on day he picks up wife’s remains


Bryan Marsh, of Elsmere, has had his share of ups and downs in recent weeks.  His wife passed away earlier this month, leaving him to care for their four children. On the day Marsh picked up her remains, he stopped at Good Spirits Wine & Tobacco in Erlanger to buy a few Kentucky Lottery scratch-off tickets.

One of the tickets Marsh purchased was a $10 Bluegrass Blowout ticket. He told lottery officials he doesn’t normally buy $10 tickets, that he usually spends less but this particular day he chose to buy just one.

Bryan Marsh and his late wife

After scratching off the ticket, Marsh didn’t see where he had matched any of his numbers. He went back into the store to cash in another ticket he had won on and asked the clerk to scan the Bluegrass Blowout ticket just to double-check it. That’s when he was told the prize was more than the store could pay.

“I didn’t even know how much I’d won. I hadn’t even scratched off the prize amounts,” Marsh said.

He checked the ticket again when he saw $200,000 show up on the scanner. “I just started yelling, ‘It’s two-hundred thousand, it’s two-hundred thousand dollars!”

It turns out, on his ticket Marsh matched the number 27 to win the game’s $200,000 top prize.

“I was amazed. That’s a lot of money,” Marsh told lottery officials.

After taxes, the Kenton County man received a check for $142,000.

“This money will help prepare for the future. It’s going to cover my wife’s funeral expenses and take away my debt,” he said.

Marsh talked to lottery officials about how strange it was to have won this money right now and the sadness he felt to not have his wife here to experience it with him. 

Marsh went on to say, “The roller coaster of life has its ups and downs and I’m just holding on.”

Good Spirits Wine & Tobacco will receive $2,000 for selling the winning ticket.
 


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One Comment

  1. Abby says:

    Now this is a person who deserves to win a 200k scratch off. My heart goes out to him and his boys and know their mama has been and always will be watching over them♥️

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