Lyft driver uses tip from passenger on lottery ticket — and wins life-changing prize

A Lyft driver got a $5 tip from a passenger and decided to spend it on a scratch-off lottery ticket in Virginia.

His decision paid off.

The Virginia Beach lottery player hit the top prize of $150,000 in the Strike It Rich game, the Virginia Lottery announced in an April 4 news release.

Ryan Pasch, who said he drives for the rideshare app as a “side hustle,” got a cash tip from a passenger one day, he told lottery officials. He stopped at a 7-Eleven in southeast Virginia to fill up his tank and decided to buy a lottery ticket.

When he saw what he won, he “got a little light-headed,” he said.

“I was pretty stoked,” he told lottery officials.

The Virginia Beach man beat the 1-in-1,224,000 odds to hit one of the three $150,000 prizes offered in the game. He claimed the last top prize of the game that debuted in July, bringing it to an end.

“Mr. Pasch lives in Virginia Beach, which received nearly $34.9 million in Lottery funds for K-12 education last fiscal year,” according to lottery officials.

This story was originally published April 5, 2024 at 10:57 AM with the headline "Lyft driver uses tip from passenger on lottery ticket — and wins life-changing prize."