Huge win could not have come at a better time

By Kate Northrop

A Kentucky man diagnosed with cancer and undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatments experienced a turn of events when he won a jackpot worth over $200,000 while playing the lottery online.

Frank Long's life has changed drastically since being diagnosed with cancer, but a quick stroke of luck and the right attitude helped make a change for the better.

Long's lifestyle looks different than most others'. He goes to receive chemotherapy and radiation treatments instead of going into work every day.

His routine, however, left him desiring something fun to do, and so he started playing the Kentucky Lottery's online games to pass the time.

"I was bored, and it gave me something to do," he told the Kentucky Lottery. "If it weren't for messing around on the computer, I would have gone stir crazy."

On Tues., Oct. 11, the online Bank Buster Jackpot Instant Play game piqued Long's interest. The game features a progressive starting jackpot of $100,000 and grows with each purchase of a participating Instant Play game, the Lottery noted.

Astonishingly, Long won $700 two times in the same game, so his wife encouraged him to wager $20 on his next play.

The animation played out on his screen, displaying a vault symbol. He clicked the symbol and was rewarded with a message telling him that he won $234,176.98.

"I kept clicking on [the winner message], thinking it isn't real," Long recalled. "I didn't believe it until I got the confirmation email from the Kentucky Lottery."

Long gave credit to his wife, who was the one to convince him to put down a larger amount than he would normally bet.

"The funny thing is, I don't usually spend that much but my wife said, 'Let's goof off and go for it,'" he said in a press release.

The next day, he and his wife, Sonya, showed up at Lottery headquarters in Louisville to collect the prize and received a check for $166,265 after taxes.

The timing of receiving such a prize could not have been better. Right before Long was diagnosed with cancer, he had just purchased a new truck. He had been under a lot of stress with the truck payments on top of the unexpected medical bills, Sonya said.

"This couldn't have come at a better time," the winner said, check in hand. "It took a lot off of me and I'm still trying to process. This is sure shocking."

Long had just completed his final round of chemotherapy and radiation treatments and will be allowing himself time to heal before his next scan. Once he's better, the pair are excited to be able to take a cruise together.