Cha-Ching! A Look at Lubbock’s Million-Dollar Lotto Winners

Luck has struck the Hub City more than once, with several locals hitting it big in the lottery. From million-dollar jackpots to life-changing wins, these lucky players prove that fortune sometimes favors Lubbock. Lottery winnings are public information (to an extent), and anyone can filter through the piles of data here, but I have narrowed it to Lubbock County and over $1 million for you.

Lubbock’s History of Big Lotto Wins

Interestingly, the biggest lotto jackpot won in Lubbock was nearly 30 years ago. The winner was awarded over $17 million dollars from Lotto Texas. While many who win big jackpots choose to remain anonymous, this winner is listed as Lucky 19 Investment Trust. The trust was likely created after the individual(s) won the prize to protect them financially.

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The next biggest winner is even longer ago- in 1993 the Emmet Estate won nearly 11 million dollars. We actually do have some information about Emmet Neal, Lubbock's first big lottery winner.

According to the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, "Emmett J. Neal Jr. was 39 and living in Lubbock when one day after work in May, he decided to drop by the EZ-Mart on 50th and Chicago."

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He purchased the ticket after finishing up a shift as a chef at Red Lobster. After winning, he retired and paid for his father to retire. He met his wife a year later. Emmet passed away in 2005, but left behind a legacy of generosity and kindness.

Lubbock has yet to hit a major jackpot since the 1990s, but several folks have cashed in from $1 million to $2 million, which I certainly wouldn't sneeze at!

Here's a look at every million-plus winner, the games they played, and the location from which they purchased it (if available).