6 years of the lottery pays off for Nelson County woman: ‘It saved the day’

BARDSTOWN, Ky. (FOX 56) — A Nelson County woman said she is less stressed after winning $50,000 on a Kentucky Lottery scratch-off ticket.

Kentucky Lottery said Tonya Shelton of Coxs Creek, and her boyfriend stopped at Fairfield Grocery in Fairfield, where he picked up a $50 $5,000,000 Fortune ticket.

“We’ve been playing them together for six years. It’s our thing,” she said. 

Shelton scratched the ticket off in the car. She had matched the number 25 and proceeded to scratch off the prize below.

“I saw the big zeroes, and then when you get to that comma and the other big zero. I’ve never seen anything this big,” Shelton said. 

She told officials the prize was meant to be.

“Today is the 25^th day of April 2025, and we won on number 25,” she said. “It was meant to be!”

“It just gives you this feeling of, is this really real?” her boyfriend said.

Shelton and her family claimed the ticket at lottery headquarters in Louisville later that day, where she received a check for $36,000 after taxes. 

“Who would’ve dreamed we’d be down here today?” Shelton said. 

Shelton told lottery officials she’s building her first home and that winning the lottery will relieve some stress.

“It’s a relief, just less stress. We’ve been telling each other that after we get to move into this house, we’ll have to eat tuna and ramen noodles every night. This really just helps us out,” Shelton said. “It saved the day.”

While talking to lottery officials, Shelton highlighted that she was a Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship (KEES) recipient, which is funded from revenue from the Kentucky Lottery. She said KEES helped her get her associate’s degree in arts from Jefferson Community College years ago.

“It makes me feel good when I can give back; well, they paid for my schooling. You get a chance to win and help some people,” Shelton said.

Fairfield Grocery will receive $500 for selling the winning ticket. The $5,000,000 Fortune game went on sale to players in October, making this the largest scratch-off prize offered to Kentucky Lottery players.

A south-central Kentucky woman made history when she won one of the $5 million top prizes.

The Kentucky Lottery said seven second-prize winners of $50,000 have won so far. There is still one $5 million top prize and eleven $50,000 prizes remaining in the game.