'The best way to get him out of my basement': Prince William father gives son winning Virginia Lottery ticket

Aaron Andrews got married in April, and since then he and his wife have lived in his father’s Prince William County basement.

No more, thanks to a winning lottery ticket.

Andrews’ father, an avid lottery player, bought a ticket for the Virginia Lottery’s Cash4Life drawing and ended up matching the first five winning numbers, lottery officials said in a news release. The prize for that is a choice: either $1,000 every week for life or a one-time cash option of $1 million.

Instead of choosing that himself, he gave the ticket to his son as a wedding present. Aaron chose the cash option, which made it a $1 million wedding gift!

“I have a great father who has done nothing but look out for me,” Aaron Andrews told Virginia Lottery officials as the winning ticket was redeemed, according to the release.

The winning ticket was bought at PJ’s Neighborhood Variety Store at 19122-A Fuller Heights Road in Triangle.

The winning numbers for the Aug. 3 drawing were 25-35-36-41-59, and the Cash Ball number was 2. The father used Easy Pick and allowed the computer to randomly select the numbers on the ticket.

Aaron told lottery officials he’s looking forward to buying a home with his bride.

As for the dad, he jokingly said, “This was the best way to get him out of my basement.”

Cash4Life is played in 10 states, including Virginia. It features a top prize of $1,000 per day for life and a second prize of $1,000 per week for life.

All Virginia Lottery profits go to K-12 education in Virginia. Prince William County Public Schools received more than $64.6 million in lottery funds for K-12 education last fiscal year.

In fiscal 2024, the lottery raised more than $934 million for K-12 education, making up approximately 10 percent of Virginia’s total K-12 school budget.