Out-of-work Newport woman wins $1 million

BY LARRY GRARD

Kennebec Journal Morning Sentinel
Staff Writer

04/17/2009

NEWPORT -- A Camp Benson Road resident learned Tuesday morning that she had won $1 million on a Texas Hold 'em Maine State Lottery scratch ticket -- that she had purchased four years ago, from a store that has since burned down.

Brenda Ripton said Thursday night that she had received a check for $700,000 earlier in the day.

The federal government took 25 percent and the state 5 percent, but it's all good for Ripton.

"I'm overwhelmed," said Ripton, who will be 58 in two weeks. "Me and my husband Philip are both out of work."

Ripton said she purchased the scratch ticket four years ago from the Dixmont Corner Store, which has since burned.

Her winning ticket was part of a second-chance lottery, in which non-winners fill out the back of the ticket.

The state printed 2.5 million of the Texas Hold 'em tickets and it has taken this long to sell them all, Ripton said.

"I totally forgot about it -- I didn't have a clue," she said.

A woman from the Maine State Lottery called Ripton on Tuesday morning and advised her to sit down, she said.

"I didn't believe them," she said. "I thought someone was pulling a joke on me."

Ripton said she will give some of the money to her five children.

Daughter Amanda Ripton is about to marry Jason Pelletier, and others have college loans to pay, she said.

Brenda Ripton has worked as a secretary and in retail, and her husband has worked in construction.

Both have been out of work for more than a year, she said.

Ripton said she also will give some money to her church, Emmanuel Bible Baptist Church in Plymouth.

The couple have no immediate plans to move out of their mobile home, she said.

"We'll probably stay put for now," Ripton said. "I'm content. I'll figure it out but I'm in no hurry. I'll just enjoy not being strapped for money."