Weeks of small-town speculation ended yesterday when the Pennsylvania Lottery Commission confirmed a West Pennsboro Twp. family won $1 million on a ticket sold at the local pharmacy.
Matthew Campbell and his father, Alvin, who live less than a half-mile from the MGM Pharmacy, snagged the prize during the July 4 drawing of the Millionaire Raffle.
The identity of the winner had been the talk of the community since word filtered out that a winning ticket had been sold at MGM.
"For little Newville to have a $1 million winner is definitely nice," pharmacy manager Mark Eberly said.
"It's an unexpected blessing," said Janet Campbell, Matt's mom and Alvin's wife. "It's still hard to believe."
Matt Campbell, 25, and his father, 55, whose nickname is "Butch," don't usually play the lottery, she said, and only take a shot at the bigger pots. That's why they split the cost of a $20 Millionaire Raffle ticket.
The family didn't sit around the TV for the drawing, Janet Campbell said. They didn't even realize they'd won until a few days later when word started going around town that a winning ticket -- bearing the numbers 00048106 -- had been sold at MGM.
The lottery money won't change much, she said.
"Matt's going to buy a house, but that was already in the works. Now, I think he might buy a nicer house," she said.
She and her husband, an electrician at the PPG plant in South Middleton Twp., plan to invest their winnings toward retirement.
The Campbells aren't getting a cool $1 million, she said, because 25 percent came off the top for taxes.
Their son, an electrician with a private contractor, is a low-key guy, even as a lottery winner, Janet Campbell said. He didn't let the announcement of his windfall interfere with fishing yesterday afternoon.
She said the whole family is shunning any fuss.
Although the Campbells presented their winning ticket last week, Eberly said he couldn't reveal their identity until state officials confirmed its validity.
"We had a lot of people ask if we knew who the winner was," he said. "Of course, the rumor mill was always running."
Eberly said the local win is especially satisfying because it seems most of the lottery's big winners come from large population centers, like Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.
The Campbells are among three $1 million winners from the July 4 raffle who have emerged so far. The others, David Cavalieri of Mantua, N.J., and Maria Valencia of Upper Darby, bought their tickets in Philly.
Two $1 million raffle pots from the July 4 drawing haven't been claimed, according to the lottery commission.
It said 625,000 Millionaire Raffle tickets were sold between May 23 and June 26. The odds of winning a $1 million pot were 1 in 125,000. Players could not pick their numbers.
MGM is a winner, too, because it will get $5,000 from the commission for selling the winning ticket.
Eberly said the Campbells' prize far outstrips any other winnings from lottery tickets sold at his store.
"Three or four years ago, someone won $4,500 in Cash 5," he said.
Congratulations to them. I hope they don't have problems later in life.
Congrats to them. I'm sure the extra income will come in handy.
Newville is not far from the Harrisburg/Middletown main Lottery headquarters, so Im sure it was a short drive to claim their win!
Thank goodness PA doesnt tax , just federal (@35%/38% )...
Glad they are investing in real estate and retirement!
Bravo to the small town claimants!