Talk about beating the odds.
A day after her daughter had finished cancer treatment, where she spent her entire life savings, Florida woman Geraldine Gimblet won a $2 million lottery jackpot.
Gimblet, who is from Lakeland, had stopped at a gas station hoping to purchase one of the crossword “$2,000,000 BONUS CASHWORD Scratch-Off game” lottery tickets, but the clerk said they were all out.
Instead of taking her losses, Gimblet asked for the worker to check again.
“At first the gas station clerk thought there were no tickets left, but I asked him to double check because I like the crossword games the best,” Gimblet said according to the lottery’s press release. “He found the last one!”
In CASHWORD, players are given 20 letters and three separate games, where they must match three or more words in each game with their letters and win the cash prize listed, with the chance of doubling it with a “MONEYBAG” symbol.
But her own lottery win wasn’t the only positive news the family had that week as her daughter had finished her last treatment for breast cancer.
Gimblet’s daughter revealed her mother had spent her entire life savings to be able to pay for her treatment and care.
“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, Gimblet’s daughter told the lottery. “My mom had taken out her life savings to take care of me when I was sick. I’m just so happy for her!”
Gimblet, her daughter, and granddaughter all took the 260-mile trip up to the Florida Lottery Headquarters in Tallahassee, where Reggie Dixon, the Chief of Staff of the lottery joined them for the payout.
Pipkin Road Beverage Castle, the Lakeland retailer that sold the scratch-off, will receive a $2,000 bonus commission for selling the winner.
In early March, a Virginia man got lucky twice when he bought two Powerball tickets winning a combined $150 thousand from both tickets.
