The Kentucky Lottery said Rohith Kandula was stopping for gas when he decided to buy some lottery tickets on a mid-April trip to the Fort Wright Shell on Dixie Highway with his four best friends and fellow recent University of Cincinnati graduates.
According to lottery officials, Kandula’s first ticket won him $10, which he used to buy another $5 Kentucky Jackpot game, winning the $125,000 top prize.
The five friends scanned the ticket at the Fort Wright Shell, and after seeing the amount, immediately ran back to their car.
“It’s like we didn’t know what to do at that time because it was a big winner,” Kandula said. “We took the scratch-off to the car and we all started shouting…loudly. My heart was beating like 120, no 160. I was in shock. I could hear my heartbeat,” he joked.
Kandula said he was still in shock a few days after his win, so he downloaded the Kentucky Lottery app and scanned the winning ticket.
“I was still thinking, ‘is this true or not?’” he said.
Kandula road-tripped with his four friends to the Kentucky Lottery headquarters recently to claim his ticket.
Lottery officials said the five friends went to school together in India and all transferred to the University of Cincinnati’s information technology master’s program in 2023. The group graduated in December 2024.
Kandula plans to use the winnings to pay off his student loans and send money to his family.
“My family back home has worked so hard for me, so I want to give back to them,” he said.
Kandula said the group is planning to take a big trip together that he will pay for to celebrate his friends being with him on the day of his big win.
After taxes, Kandula took home a check for $82,500. The Fort Wright Shell will receive $1,250 for selling this winning ticket.
According to a news release, two $125,000 top prizes remain on the $5 Kentucky Jackpot Scratch-off, along with 22 $1,000 prizes.
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