Bowling Green Woman first Kentuckian to win second prize on Millionaire for Life

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – A Bowling Green woman is the first Kentuckian to win the second prize in the Kentucky’s Lottery’s Millionaire for Life game.

According to lottery officials, the winner, who has chosen to remain anonymous, won the second prize of $100,000 a year for life.

The Kentucky Lottery says she bought the winning ticket at AM Express in Bowling Green.

According to lottery officials, her ticket matched five white balls, including 42, 45, 46, 48 and 56, to win the second prize. The odds of winning the second-tier prize are one in 5,727,645, according to the Kentucky Lottery.

Lottery officials say she recalls discovering the win shortly after chatting with her daughter.

“I hung up and pulled up the lottery’s app and saw online that someone had won at the gas station I always go to,” she said. “So, I logged in and checked my ticket and saw $2.2 million on the screen. I logged in, logged off and checked it again—three times—just to make sure I was seeing it right.”

Still in disbelief, lottery officials say she sent a screenshot to her family.

“I was shaking,” her son told lottery officials. “She texted me at work, and I was getting ready to leave. I saw the screenshot and I was like, ‘what?’”

The woman said her husband didn’t believe it either. “Even this morning it still didn’t feel real,” she said with a laugh.

The woman says she’s been playing regularly for years and never stopped believing her moment would come.

“I always said that one of these days it would happen,” the woman said.

Instead of choosing the annuity prize of $100,000 a year for life, the woman chose the current estimated cash value of the one-time lump sum payment of $2.2 million, taking home a check for $1,595,000 after taxes.

When asked about plans for her prize, she said her priority is helping her family.

Beyond that, she does have one dream set and that is to travel.

“That’s always been my goal,” she stated.

According to lottery officials, she also shared that she once won $950 on a Scratch off and has had several smaller wins over the years but nothing close to this life-changing prize.

“It still doesn’t feel real,” she said. “I’m just grateful.”

AM Express, will receive $1,000 for selling the winning ticket.

Millionaire for Life™ went on sale to players Feb. 22, 2026, after replacing Lucky for Life. Tickets cost $5 per play, and drawings are held nightly at 11:15 p.m. E.T. The top prize for matching the five white balls plus the Millionaire Ball is $1 million a year for life.