Father of 4 whose wife recently died wins $200K in Kentucky Lottery

ERLANGER, Ky. (FOX19) - A northern Kentucky man whose wife recently died won $200,000 from a scratch-off Kentucky Lottery ticket, lottery officials announced Thursday.

The win is bittersweet for Bryan Marsh of Elsmere as he copes with the loss and cares for their four children alone, they said in a news release.

His wife, Paige, passed away recently.

Marsh said he’s been on an emotional roller coaster for the last week or so.

For years, Marsh said he tried to get his wife the help she needed for substance abuse, but last week she overdosed and it was too late.

“She took her own life. She committed suicide,” he said.

On the day he picked up her remains, he stopped at Good Spirits Wine & Tobacco in Erlanger to buy a few Kentucky Lottery scratch-off tickets, according to the release.

One of the tickets Marsh purchased was a $10 Bluegrass Blowout ticket.

He told lottery officials he doesn’t normally buy $10 tickets, he usually spends less. But on this particular day, he chose to buy one.

After scratching off the ticket, Marsh didn’t see where he had matched any of his numbers.

He went back into the store to cash in another ticket he had won on and asked the clerk to scan the Bluegrass Blowout ticket just to double check it.

That’s when he was told the prize was more than the store could pay.

“I didn’t even know how much I’d won. I hadn’t even scratched off the prize amounts,” Marsh said in the release.

He checked the ticket again when he saw $200,000 show up on the scanner. “I just started yelling, 'It’s two-hundred thousand, it’s two-hundred thousand dollars!”

Marsh matched the No. 27 to win the game’s $200,000 top prize.

“I was amazed. That’s a lot of money,” Marsh told lottery officials.

After taxes, the Kenton County man received a check for $142,000.

“This money will help prepare for the future. It’s going to cover my wife’s funeral expenses and take away my debt,” he said.

Marsh talked to lottery officials about how strange it was to have won this money right now and the sadness he felt to not have his wife here to experience it with him.

Marsh went on to say, “The roller coaster of life has its ups and downs and I’m just holding on.”

Good Spirits Wine & Tobacco will receive $2,000 for selling the winning ticket.