TRENTON – A loyal Scratch-off game player was on a mission to scratch a particular itch during the summer. So, during a trip to visit family, the player did what anybody on the Jersey Shore would do: Go visit a Wawa.
“I usually get up, go for a walk, get my coffee and a couple of Scratch offs. But this time, I was on a mission. Something told me to get up, get my shoes out and get my tickets,” the player reflected recently when collecting their winnings at the New Jersey Lottery office. “Something caught my eye and I said ‘Let me buy that.’”
“That” was the $1,000,000 Diamond Spectacular a $20 ticket and the reward was the top prize of $1 million. Two of the three top prizes have now been claimed, meaning one more big winner is hiding along with a dozen $10,000 prizes somewhere in the Garden State.
The winner needed a few months to get their affairs in order before collecting the funds. “Before I played, that Wawa had another winner of a couple thousand; it must be a lucky Wawa.”
“Like any player, I guess, I have a routine. I scratch the bonus section first. I didn’t win there. Then I scratched the winning numbers (at the top of the card). It looked like I was going to win something. Maybe a free ticket, I thought. I kept going, and…Oh. My. God. I won! I was in shock. Tears were in my eyes. The clerk came over, looked at me and asked if she needed to call an ambulance.”
After taxes, the million-dollar prize may not exactly be generational wealth. However, it can certainly be life enhancing. The player plans to keep working for a while, and, yes, keep playing the lottery. “I’ve won a couple hundred dollars since I’ve won (the million dollars). And I want to keep (working). I would go out of my mind otherwise.”
So far this year, more than 40 Lottery players in New Jersey have won at least $1 million. This particular winner has the right perspective. “There’s people who win tens of millions. But for me, this is life changing enough.”
That money will help secure a small house near a beach and family, and a more easy-going lifestyle. “It will be a little, tiny place. But that’s all I need.”
