Fulton Sun

If John Cox, 67, isn’t the wealthiest cook in Callaway, he’s certainly the happiest.

The Sir Winston’s employee won the grand $50,000 prize from a Bonus Word Missouri Lottery scratcher ticket he bought Nov. 7 — on his late mother’s birthday, and two days after his own — at Fastlane 64 off Amerihorst Drive.

“It was two days late, but that’s fine,” said Cox, who said he buys the $3 tickets three or four times a week. “Those kinds of things just don’t happen to me. Actually I thought I made a mistake.”

The Bonus Word Crossword lottery scratcher officially began Aug. 27, and the Missouri Lottery’s webiste, molottery.com, estimates that Cox is just the third of eight possible $50,000 grand prize winners.