You never know what life is going to have in store for you. At times, it may seem as if you are at the very end but then suddenly, you are back on top again.
That is what happened to one woman in Florida named Geraldine Gimlet. She had been through a very difficult time, struggling to pay for her daughter’s breast cancer treatment and barely holding onto the end of the rope.
Something amazing happened the day after her daughter’s treatment ended, and Gimlet got some good news on two different fronts. Not only was her daughter finished with the difficult medical treatments, but she won the lottery that day as well.
A press release from the Florida Lottery shows that Gimlet stopped at the Pipkin Road Beverage Castle, a gas station near her home to buy a scratch-off lottery ticket. She paid $10 for the $2,000,000 Bonus Cashword Scratch-Off game, which is common for her.
Unfortunately, they were out of that particular game and Gimlet almost left the store without buying anything. She decided that she would have him double-check before she left.
Gimlet spoke to the Florida Lottery, saying: “I asked him to double check because I like the crossword games the best.” She then went on to say: “He found the last one!”
The Cashword lottery game gives players 20 letters and three separate games to try their luck. You have to match three or more words in each game to win the cash prize.
There is also an opportunity to double your money if you scratch off a ‘money bag’ symbol. That makes it an even sweeter win.
Gimlet worked her way through all three of the games and then realized that she had just won the $2 million top prize. This is incredible because you only have a one in 3.9 million chance of winning that top prize.
Rather than taking the win over many years, she decided to take a lump sum payment of $1,645,000. The gas station that sold the ticket will also receive a $2000 bonus commission.
Gimlet traveled 260 miles to Tallahassee to collect the prize. She there met the Chief of Staff of the lottery, Reggie Dixon at their headquarters. She brought her daughter and granddaughter along for the ride so they could share the moment together.
This was something that brought her a lot of financial relief but the relief of her daughter’s cancer treatment being over was even more important to her.
Her daughter said: “The day before my mom bought this ticket, I rang the bell and walked out of the hospital after completing my last treatment for breast cancer. My mom had taken out her life savings to take care of me when I was sick. I’m just so happy for her!”
