Construction worker wins $1 Million scratchers prize in Sikeston | News

SIKESTON, MO (KFVS) - A Sikeston construction worker won a $1 million scratcher prize on March 9.

It had been a typical morning for Roy Metcalf Jr. and his boss when they walked into their “usual play place” for some Missouri Lottery Scratchers tickets before a construction job. However, when the co-workers left Fas Gas, 600 N. Main St. in Sikeston, on March 9, one of them walked away with an unexpected designation – newfound millionaire.

Metcalf explained that his boss had been playing “$1,000,000 Classic Cash,” but he wasn’t having much luck. Metcalf fared better, as he uncovered a $10 prize on a different game. With his winnings, he decided to try a “$1,000,000 Classic Cash” game, too. After scratching the majority of the ticket and not noticing any winning prize amounts, he assumed he was holding a non-winner. Then, he arrived at the final line.

“It was the last number on the ticket,” Metcalf recalled. “I didn’t even see it at first. My boss said, ‘You got a 24 there that you won on.’ When I scratched it off, I looked at him, and I said, ‘It says $1 million!’”

The 43-year-old admitted that he was “basically in shock” for the rest of the day.

“I was nervous, excited, and I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry,” he added. 

After staring at the ticket “for about five minutes,” a dazed Metcalf secured it in his truck and then continued to his regularly scheduled construction job.                                             

While claiming his prize at the Lottery’s St. Louis office, the father of four said he planned to use the windfall to pay for his children’s college tuition. Yet, it’s not all bills for the first-time Lottery winner, who will treat himself to a new vehicle.

“I’ve already picked out a truck,” he noted, adding that one of his kids will also get a new car.

Before leaving the Lottery office, Metcalf reminisced about the fateful day that took him from “a regular guy” to an instant millionaire.

“He (boss) kept saying, ‘There is a big winner coming up,’” he remembered.

Metcalf now knows that the premonition turned out to be true for him, but not so much for his boss, who teased Metcalf that he “should’ve kept playing those tickets.”

When asked how the prize might change his daily life, he replied, “I’m still planning on working, but it’s going to make things a lot easier.”

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