lottery

WTF Fun Fact 13346 – Mom Wins Lottery

In a heartwarming turn of events, a Florida mom wins the lottery just days after spending the last of her life savings. Geraldine Gimblet from Lakeland, Florida, won a $2 million top prize from a scratch-off lottery ticket just one day after paying for her daughter’s final cancer treatment.

Geraldine purchased the winning ticket at Pipkin Road Beverage Castle. Initially, the gas station clerk thought there were no tickets left, but Geraldine insisted on a double check, as she preferred the crossword games. Fortunately, the last ticket turned out to be a winner.

Mom wins lottery with perfect timing

The timing of Geraldine’s win was especially significant as it coincided with a major milestone in her daughter’s life. Her daughter had been battling breast cancer, and the day before Geraldine bought the winning ticket, her daughter completed her final cancer treatment. The news of her mother’s lottery win brought immense joy to her daughter, who expressed gratitude for her mother’s support and sacrifices during her illness.

Geraldine chose to receive her prize as a one-time, lump-sum payment of $1,645,000.00. The crossword game that she won featured eight top prizes of $2 million and 20 second-tier prizes of $100,000.

According to Florida Lottery Communications:

“The $10 game, $2,000,000 BONUS CASHWORD, launched in May 2022 and features eight top prizes of $2 million and 20 second tier prizes of $100,000! The game’s overall odds of winning are 1-in-3.12. Scratch-Off games are an important part of the Lottery’s portfolio of games, comprising approximately 77 percent of ticket sales in fiscal year 2021-2022. Since inception, Scratch-Off games have generated more than $17.69 billion for the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund (EETF).”

The Pipkin Road Beverage Castle, where Geraldine bought the winning ticket, will also receive a bonus commission of $2,000 for selling the lucky ticket.

This heartwarming story serves as a reminder of the unpredictability of life’s fortunes and the power of hope and perseverance in the face of challenges. It represents a moment of celebration and relief for Geraldine and her family, marking a new chapter of positivity and possibilities after their battle with cancer.

— WTF fun facts

Source: “Florida mom wins $2M lottery prize a day after her daughter has her last cancer treatment” — CBS News

WTF Fun Fact 12684 – Pushed Into a Fortune

Some people come into our lives and make them richer. Other people barrel through our lives just because they’re rude and we’re in their way. For LaQuedra Edwards, it only took one person to do both.

In April of 2022, the Southern California woman was buying her weekly lottery ticket at a grocery store in Tarzana when “some rude person” (as she described them) bumped into her and didn’t even stop to say excuse me. That ended up pushing her into the machine as she was about to hit the button for the ticket she wanted. Except her finger veered off course due to the surprise and landed on the button for a $30 scratch-off.

She had already bought some other tickets and went out to her car, unhappy with the overall investment. But as many lottery players know, sometimes those cards end up paying for themselves.

Ms. Edwards $30 scratch-off DID pay for itself – and then some! She scratched it off to find she had won the lotto’s biggest prize, a whopping $10 million!

“I didn’t really believe it at first, but I got on the 405 freeway and kept looking down at [the ticket], and I almost crashed my car,” she said in a statement to the California Lottery. “I pulled over, looked at it again and again, scanned it with my app, and I just kept thinking this can’t be right.”

The odds of winning $10 million in that particular scratch-off game were 1 in 3 million! And while there are plenty of rude people out there who just keep on barreling through the lives of other folks, we almost have to wonder if this wasn’t some sort of “guardian angel.” (Or at least a fairy godmother in a rush.) –  WTF fun fact

Source: “An accidental encounter with a ‘rude person’ made this woman $10 million richer” — Fortune

WTF Fun Fact #12392 – Almost Missing Millions

55-year old Laura Spears, from Oakland County, Michigan bought a Mega Millions lottery ticket on the Michigan Lottery website. The drawing took place on December 31, 20201and it turned out she was a winner. The Michigan lottery tracked her down and sent her an email, but it went straight to her spam folder.

She didn’t think much about the lottery until she checked her spam folder in January and found an email telling her about her prize. Her ticket had 5 matching numbers, earning her a $1 million payday. But it turns out she also paid for a “Megaplier,” an extra that boosted her total winning to $3 million!

“I saw an ad on Facebook that the Mega Millions jackpot was getting pretty high, so I got on my account and bought a ticket,” Spears told Michigan Lottery officials. “A few days later, I was looking for a missing email from someone, so I checked the spam folder in my email account.”

“That’s when I saw an email from the Lottery saying I had won a prize. I couldn’t believe what I was reading, so I logged in to my Lottery account to confirm the message in the email. It’s all still so shocking to me that I really won $3 million!”

Her plans are to retire early and share the money with her family.

Now, excuse us while we go check our spam folder!

– WTF Fun Facts

Source: No Spam Here: Oakland County Woman Wins $3 Million Mega Millions Prize — Michigan Lottery Connect