An Arlington resident is set to fulfill his dream of buying a house after winning a whopping $500,000 in the Virginia Lottery.
“I was overwhelmed with joy that tears nearly welled up in my eyes,” expressed Jose Marquina to lottery officials. “Today is truly a special day for me!”
In a remarkable stroke of luck, Marquina defied odds of 1 in 612,000 and emerged as the victor of the Cash Fever lotto game, as confirmed by a press release on November 4. The winning ticket was purchased at a gas station located at 6318 Leesburg Pike in Falls Church, in close proximity to the Eden Center.
Marquina couldn’t believe his eyes when he noticed that the ticket he was scratching appeared to be a winner. He was so overwhelmed with excitement that he couldn’t even finish scratching it.
“I just couldn’t continue playing,” he revealed. “So, I handed the ticket over to my wife and requested her to finish scratching it for me.”
Marquina’s future living arrangements were not mentioned in the press release. However, in a previous poll conducted by ARLnow, it was found that purchasing a local house was the most popular choice among readers if they were to win the lottery. Buying a vacation house ranked fourth in popularity.
In Fiscal Year 2024, Arlington Public Schools received approximately $6.3 million in funds from the Virginia Lottery.
