ERNEST KING CLAIMS FIRST $50,000 HOLIDAY MAGIC TOP PRIZE

DOVER, DE - Sixty-nine year-old Ernest King, from an area near Hardscrabble in Sussex County, claimed a $50,000 HOLIDAY MAGIC Instant Game prize this morning at the Delaware Lottery Office in Dover. He was the first to claim one of two $50,000 top prizes in the HOLIDAY MAGIC Instant Game that went on sale October 15.

King received a check for $36,250, which represents his $50,000 prize minus $13,750 withheld for federal taxes.

"I bought my HOLIDAY MAGIC Instant Game ticket yesterday at Fresh Pride in Georgetown and scratched the ticket in the store," King explained. "I wasn't sure if I was a winner so I asked the clerk to check my ticket. When I realized I had won $50,000, I was so overwhelmed I practically fell to the floor. I couldn't wait to claim my prize this morning." King plans to pay bills and take a few trips with his winnings.

HOLIDAY MAGIC is the Delaware Lottery's first $10 Instant Game ticket and was designed for gift givers looking for a more substantial stocking stuffer or office gift. HOLIDAY MAGIC features a top cash prize worth $50,000, plus nine other cash prize levels from $10 to $10,000. Each $10 ticket features ten games and offers players 15 chances to win. The HOLIDAY MAGIC game offers 93,556 prizes with a total value of $1,660,000. Average odds of winning HOLIDAY MAGIC are 1 in 2.57, based on selling all 240,000 tickets ordered for this game.

Tickets for HOLIDAY MAGIC are available at more than 400 Delaware Lottery Retailers.

Since the start of operations in 1975, the Delaware Lottery has contributed more than $1.1 billion to the state's General Fund to help finance needed state services that benefit everyone in Delaware. The Lottery offers a variety of games: POWERBALL®, LOTTO, Rolldown®, PLAY 3 and PLAY 4, and assorted Instant Games.