Nelson County woman’s $50,000 lottery win eases stress of building first home

NELSON COUNTY, Ky. – A Nelson County woman is celebrating after she won $50,000 on a Kentucky Lottery Scratch-off ticket.

According to the Kentucky Lottery, Tonya Shelton of Coxs Creek and her boyfriend stopped at the Fairfield Grocery in Fairfield, where she picked out the ticket.

“We’ve been playing them together for six years. It’s our thing,” she said.

Shelton scratched the ticket off in the car, lottery officials say, discovering she matched the number 25 and scratched off the prize below.

“Today is the 25th day of 2025, and we won on number 25,” she said. “It was meant to be!”

Shelton brought her family along to claim her ticket at lottery headquarters later that day, where she received a check for $36,000 after taxes.

“Who would’ve dreamed we’d be down here today,” Shelton said, laughing.

Lottery officials say Shelton said she’s building her first home, and the winnings will relieve some stress.

“It’s a relief, just less stress. We’ve been telling each other that after we get to move into this house, we’ll have to eat tuna and ramen noodles every night. This really just helps us out,” Shelton said. “It saved the day.”

She shared that when she attended Jefferson Community College years ago, she received Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship money funded by the Kentucky Lottery to help her pay for her education while she earned an associate’s degree in arts.

“It makes me feel good when I can give back, well they paid for my schooling. You get a chance to win and help some people,” Shelton said.

Fairfield Grocery will receive $500 for selling the winning ticket.