Relaxing night out results in lottery win

A relaxing night out for a local Delaware couple turned into quite the exciting evening when they discovered they were top prize winners for the Money to Burn Instant Game.

Michael Oxbrough, a 49-year-old man from Dagsboro, purchased two tickets from Stockley Tavern in Georgetown while out with his wife. One of those tickets ended up being a $250,000 top prize winner.

"$250,000 is the biggest Money to Burn Instant Game prize and it's always exciting when a Delaware Lottery player wins a game's top prize," said Vernon Kirk, director of the Delaware Lottery. "Congratulations to Mr. Oxbrough!" The first Money to Burn top prize was claimed by a Newark woman in April.

Michael said he and his wife initially went to the bar to play Keno, purchasing five games before deciding to try their luck with a few Instant Game tickets. "Honestly, it's a lot of fun and something we enjoy doing together," he said.

He began to scratch the first ticket and noticed that one of his numbers matched one of the winning numbers. Realizing he had won, he decided to move on to the second ticket before uncovering his prize. Once the second ticket showed no winnings, he returned back to the first ticket to discover what he originally thought was a $250 prize, was actually $250,000.

"I jumped up from the bar and ran straight to the parking lot, hooting and hollering all the way," he said. "I had to keep checking the ticket again and again to make sure it was really a big win."

His wife and the bartender ran out after him and confirmed that this was no illusion - he really had won the top prize. Everyone then returned inside from the parking lot and Oxbrough kindly purchased a round of drinks for everyone in the establishment to celebrate his fateful win.

When asked what he was planning to do with his winnings, Oxbrough replied that he was looking forward to getting a little ahead of the game on things like bills and finances.

Oxbrough claimed his prize from Lottery Headquarters June 13.