Winning lottery streak continues in area as another Sarasota County winner strikes it rich

The Florida Lottery good fortunes continue to bless local scratch-off players as a Sarasota County man claims a prize of $810,000.

According to lottery officials, Wade Adams, 73, of Sarasota County, won a $1,000 a week for life prize, but opted for the lump sum payout.

Adams purchased the winning $2 ticket at a Wawa located at 2970 Executive Dr. in Venice. The service station will receive a $2,000 bonus for selling the winning scratch-off ticket. The $1,000 A WEEK FOR LIFE game has 9.8 million winning tickets, but the $1,000 a week for life is the top prize.

Scratch-off tickets generated more than $871 million for the Bright Futures Scholarship program in 2017-2018 fiscal year. Since 1988, Florida Lottery games have paid more than $65 billion in prizes, making more than 2,500 people millionaires.

Adams’ prize falls just short of being called Florida’s newest millionaire, but he’s probably not complaining as he becomes the seventh area resident between Sarasota and Manatee counties to claim large lottery payouts via scratch-off games this year. Two have been from Bradenton, and Adams makes five from Sarasota County.

Most of the winning tickets were purchased in the area, while a couple of local residents purchased winning tickets while traveling elsewhere in Florida.