re: What's the most money you have ever won?

On the very first day of scratch off tickets I won $5,000. Tickets went on sale at noon that Friday. I arrived at the door of a local gas station and held the door open for a woman who otherwise would have been behind me in line and bought the tickets I got. There was a line of about 10 people buying tickets. I bought 10 tickets and drove home, sat down at the table and began scratching. I had never played scratch off before. When I lined up three $5,000s on the third ticket I thought I must not understand the game. Went back to the store and asked the clerk if I had a winner. She screamed. The next day I had to go to the local lottery office to pick up a check for $5,000 minus taxes held out.