When Ashton Edwards went with her mother to collect on a winning $1,000 lottery ticket, she had no idea she would find herself a winner 50 times over. Edwards, a stay-at-home mother of a two-year-old, won on a $50,000 Gold Rush ticket, Monday. Edwards said she’s playing it safe and putting the money away for now.
According to the Florida Lottery’s press release, the $2 game features more than $56 million in prizes, including 40 top prizes of $50,000. The game’s overall odds of winning are 1-in-4.68.
Edwards said the first thing she did was consult with an accountant. She found out her actual take-home amount would be $37,500, after taxes, but said she will get most of the remainder back at the end of the year. From her mother to everyone else, Edwards said she was told to use her winnings wisely. “I’ll put some on a CD in the bank.” She said she planned on putting the money toward school and a house. Currently, Edwards said she’s finishing a medical assistant program. Her husband, meanwhile, still continues his work in construction.
A $50,000 prize is a far cry from the Florida Lottery’s million dollar winner, Luis Alberto Marin on Thursday, and the winners of hundreds of millions of dollars who make the news every year. However, Edwards said there has been “a lot of negativity and rude comments” to her and her family immediately followed her win. While her daughter is naturally her main priority she said, “I never said I would take my daughter shopping.” She said comments on social media have ranged from her child’s life being over to threatening her life. “I was crying over these comments,” she said. She said she was even criticized for being such a young winner at 21 years old. Moving past the hateful speech, Edwards has another big event happening today, her daughter’s second birthday.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Jay mother wins $50,000 in lottery