Massachusetts Lottery: After $10M lottery win, Mass. woman plans 'exceptional Christmas'
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Debra A. Roberto, a Stoneham mother, won a $10 million grand prize — the largest instant prize in America — last week in the new Mega Cash game from the Massachusetts State Lottery.
She cashed in her winnings Monday, Nov. 23.
"I've won a little [money] in the past, but I never even dreamed of winning this amount," she recently told the Sun. "I scratch a lot of tickets, so when I scratched this one my husband said, 'Maybe now we're even.'"
Her grand prize ties the record for the largest instant grand prize ever awarded in the United States — and possibly the world.
Roberto opted to receive 20 annual checks for $500,000, instead of receiving the millions upfront. According to her, the state would have taxed the winnings and presented her with a check for only $5 million, half of what the ticket was worth, if she decided she wanted the money immediately.
The Massachusetts State Lottery created the $10 million instant prize two years ago with the introduction of the Billion Dollar Blockbuster. Since then, the Massachusetts Lottery has awarded 14 instant prizes of $10 million and currently has 12 instant prizes of $10 million available for players.
"It's rewarding to see our players win record prizes in our ground-breaking games," said Massachusetts State Lottery Executive Director Mark Cavanagh after presenting Roberto her first annuity check. "The Massachusetts State Lottery has once again raised the bar in instant tickets with our new Mega Cash game."'
'Not much is going to change'
Despite the hefty new paycheck, Roberto vows that her life is no different.
"Honest to God, it's not changing my life," the mother of three said. "People are saying, 'You're full of it.' No, I'm not. ... I mean it's nice that my kids don't have to worry about things down the road. But not much is going to change."
Asked whether she will at least take a nice trip with her family, Roberto responded: "We go on trips anyway ... I get a new car every three years anyhow. I don't know. I might get a better car ... Outside of having an exceptional Christmas, I haven't thought beyond that. Christmas is going to be fun at our house."
Roberto owns a construction company, Donald P. Roberto Construction Inc., with her husband, Donald, based out of their home in Stoneham. The company's garage is located in Wakefield. According to Roberto, the couple will transfer ownership of the firm to their children, and their son will run the business.
The couple have three children — two girls and one boy, who all graduated from Stoneham High School and vary in age from 38 down to 18 — and two grandchildren. All three children still live in Stoneham.
Roberto bought the lucky ticket at Fast Freddie's on Main Street in Wakefield. The store will receive a $50,000 commission on the sale.
A co-manager of Fast Freddie's, who did not want to be named, said he is very happy for the small town of Wakefield. He added that all the employees are hoping Roberto comes back to introduce herself.
"We are hoping the person who wins to come back and say thanks. We don't know exactly who the person is. We saw on the Internet, but we can't picture who that person is," he said. "We just want to see."
"All of the businesses appreciate that this happened in Wakefield, as well as to local people in Stoneham," he added. "It's nice."
When asked if she'd continue to buy lottery tickets, Roberto said, "I've already played again."
Game information
Mega Cash, the newest $20 instant game, features 40 instant prizes of $1 million and four instant prizes of $10 million. The game offers more than $400 million in prizes and more than 8,400,000 winning tickets. One player will win a prize of $20 million.
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