Altoona, PA – Officials from the Pennsylvania Lottery and Fefi’s Grocery, a Lottery retailer, today presented a commemorative check to the winner of a recent $1 million holiday Scratch-Off called $1 Million Merry & Bright. The check presentation was held at Fefi’s Grocery, 300 E. Grant Ave., Altoona, Blair County, where the winning ticket was sold. The store receives a $5,000 bonus for selling the big winner.
The winner, Ron Biddle of Blair County, has been a longtime Pennsylvania Lottery player and said he purchased the big winning ticket on Monday, November 25.

“I was at the counter scratching it and scanned it at the ticket checker. It read, congratulations, $1 million! I thought the machine malfunctioned so I scanned it again. The store clerk looks at me and says, ‘Ron, you okay?’” laughed Biddle.

Ron said he immediately called his sister to wake up his wife, who was sleeping after working 12 hours on a third shift.

“I said, you and Debbie get out of bed now! Get to Fefi’s!” said Biddle.

“I immediately asked how much did he win?” said Deborah, Ron’s wife. “The pajamas came off and the clothes came on. I looked in the mirror, thought hair is okay.”

Ron, a retired maintenance engineer, said when his wife walked in to the store, they remained calm and scanned the ticket again. Then they invited the store clerk to witness their biggest Lottery prize yet.

“I was so happy for him!” said the store clerk, who sold Biddle his winning ticket.

“I always knew I married a million-dollar man,” added Deborah.

Deborah and Ron recently celebrated their 33-year wedding anniversary. They said they plan to use some of the money to pay some bills and this prize will help Ron “enjoy retirement even more!”

The PA Lottery Scratch-Off $1 Million Merry & Bright went on sale on October 29 and is a $20 game that offers five top prizes of $1 million. To determine if they have won a prize, players can review the ticket, scan it at a Lottery retailer or use the ticket checker feature on the Lottery’s Official App. Winners should immediately sign the back of the ticket, call the Lottery at 1-800-692-7481 and file a claim at the nearest Lottery office.

Prizes must be claimed and tickets validated before winners can be identified. Scratch-Off prizes expire one year from the game's end-sale date posted at palottery.com. All lottery prizes more than $5,000 are subject to applicable withholding. Visit palottery.com to review rules, chances of winning and learn how to play our traditional and online games.

About Us: The Pennsylvania Lottery remains the only state lottery to direct all proceeds to programs that benefit older residents. Since ticket sales began in 1972, it has contributed more than $30 billion to fund property tax and rent rebates, transportation, care services, prescription assistance, and local services including senior centers and meals. 

Visit the Winners and Benefits pages at palottery.com to review how much money each county received in Lottery prizes and funding to benefit older Pennsylvanians last fiscal year.

Players must be 18 or older. Please play responsibly. Call 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) for help with a compulsive gambling problem.

Visit palottery.com for winning numbers, rules, chances of winning, and to join the VIP Players Club to play online or enter for second chances to win. Install our Official App, like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram and Twitter @PALottery. Use the hashtag #palottery to share your messages with us.