Kentucky Lottery winner plans ‘me time’, eyes small business after deadly tornado

MAYFIELD, Ky. (FOX 56) — A Mayfield woman is planning some “me time” after a Kentucky Lottery win.

Lottery officials said Bridgett Guthrie recently had her name drawn from over 100,000 entries for the lottery’s Kentucky Bourbon Trail online game second-chance promotion that won a Kentucky distillery tour package for two worth $1,350 and a $10,000 cash prize for a grand prize value of $11,350.

“I needed a break, and this is a good break,” Guthrie told lottery officials when she and her mother drove more than 3 hours from Mayfield recently to claim her prize. “I’m so excited about this. I’m ready for some ‘me time.’ I’ve been on distillery tours before but I’m really looking forward to this one.”    

According to a news release, on the drive to lottery headquarters, Guthrie’s mom said her daughter talked about spending her cash prize on her three daughters.  

“The first thing she said wasn’t about wanting something for herself but what she is getting her kids,” Guthrie’s mom said. “She said she was getting the girls a waterslide for their backyard. She never said, ‘oh, I’m going out to get this and this.’ No, it was all about the kids.”  

Guthrie entered the lottery’s second-chance promotion through its online gaming channel or Instant Play.

She said she has been playing the Instant Play games for about two years and uses lottery bonus bucks and ongoing game wins to play.  

“I started using the (Kentucky Lottery mobile) app, and I started winning,” she said. “I have hit a couple of $250 wins, and every Friday as a Fun Club Member, I check if I have any bonus bucks. So, when the Bourbon Trail game came out, I was like, well, I’m going to play this one and I just enjoy the game. It’s a good game.” 

In early April, the Kentucky Lottery and the Kentucky Distillers’ Association rolled out its Kentucky Bourbon Trail lottery games as part of a partnership. The games include a $5 Scratch-off ticket; a $5 Fast Play ticket; and an Instant Play (online) game.

These games offered second-chance promotions. The Kentucky Bourbon Trail Instant Play game’s top prize of $250,000 remains.   

Guthrie, who worked at the Mayfield Consumer Products candle factory that was destroyed in the 2021 tornadoes, said she, like others in her area, is trying to rebuild their life after the massive devastation in western Kentucky.  

“Having been a 70-hour working mom at the candle factory, I might look into using some of the money to start a small business,” she said. “So, we are going to scale it down. I’m going to use some of this prize money to watch for something where I can be more present for my kids and look for a small business type of situation.”