COLUMBUS (WCMH) — After three Vax-A-Million drawings, central Ohio finally has its first winner.
Mark Cline of Union County won Wednesday’s $1 million prize and was surprised with the news in a special way.
Cline was first alerted that something was up because of his dog.
He said he was just settling in to enjoy the rest of his evening when suddenly … “The dog started barking because he hears the car door close and then the doorbell rang and my wife checked the Ring cam and said, ‘There’s guys in suits out there,’” Cline said.
The guys in suits? One of them was Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine.
“I shook his hand and he said, ‘Well, congratulations. You won the million dollars,’” Cline said. “I opened the door and I yelled in to my wife and said, ‘Cheryl,’ I said, ‘We won a million dollars,’ and I paused a second and said, ‘No, I won a million dollars cause you didn’t register!’”
Cline watched the drawing announcement live from his living room with the governor.
As for his plans for the money, he said he really never gave it a thought, but he does have one idea.
“One of the things that has inspired me is the scholarships that have been given out for this, so I thought maybe some scholarships to people that are in need to further their education,” he said, adding he’s had a good life and is in a nice place financially, so he is thinking about giving back.
Cline said he was able to get the COVID-19 shot as soon as he qualified within his age group. He said he hopes to see those vaccination numbers rise across Ohio.
“Get vaccinated, get registered if you want to win,” he said with a laugh.
