H-E-B customer claims $20M Texas Lottery ticket

It’s not quite like snatching the last package of butter tortillas, but it’ll do. A New Braunfels resident and H-E-B customer recently claimed the top prize in the Texas Lottery’s $20 Million Supreme scratch-off game. That’s not something you necessarily put on your grocery list.

The fourth and final top prize-winning ticket was purchased at the H-E-B at 2965 I-35 North in New Braunfels and claimed last week. The claimant, for understandable reasons, is electing to remain anonymous.

“My first reaction was, ‘Wow!’ After I scratched the ticket, I kept looking at it to make sure the numbers matched,” the winner told Texas Lottery. “I must have checked it a dozen times.” 

While most of the time H-E-B parking lots are sometimes chaotic warzones of honks and cars pulling in and out, in this case, chances are it’s where the lucky lottery winner scratched off the ticket and realized their life would change. Any traffic on the way probably didn’t bother them.

Launched in 2022, the $100-a-ticket scratch-off awards four top prizes of $20 million. The first was claimed in 2022 in La Feria, Texas, and in 2023, two were claimed within a few days of each other, first in Boerne and then Fort Worth. And so it’s been more than three years since the fourth and final top prize was claimed.

For their part, the New Braunfels H-E-B may be getting more than the $100 for the ticket itself, as selling the ticket may make the retailer eligible for a $10,000 bonus under the Texas Lottery’s Retailer Bonus Program.

According to the Texas Lottery, there are approximately 10,379,010 tickets in $20 Million Supreme, with more than $829 million in total prizes available. But because the four top ones are gone, the contest is likely closing soon. At the moment, there appear to be a couple second prize payouts of $100,000 remaining, as well as nearly 50 worth $10,000. Just remember that these things can take awhile.

“I’ve been playing Texas Lottery scratch ticket games for about 15 years,” the claimant added. “I love the thrill of the instant win!”