Traditional lottery ticket Christmas gift turns into $3M win

Feb 8, 2019, 12:01 pm (10 comments)

Mega Millions

ROCKY HILL, CT — A family Christmas tradition of giving Connecticut Lottery tickets turned into a $3 million win.

Santa arrived with a $3 million gift recently from the Connecticut Lottery's Dec. 25 Mega Millions drawing. The ticket was sold at Avenue News in Bristol and claimed on Feb. 1.

The prizes were claimed in four separate blocks of $750,000 under four entities:

  • Christmas 2018 Revocable Trust out of Bristol
  • Christmas 2018 2 Revocable Trust out of Plainville
  • Christmas 2018 3 Revocable Trust out of Bristol
  • Big Sky Revocable Trust out of Bristol

CT Lottery officials said the big prize was the result of one family's long-standing tradition of gifting scratch tickets at Christmas, a $3 million-prize winning Mega Millions ticket was purchased for last year's Christmas Day drawing.

That triggered a reinvestment that hit for a big dividend.

"I won $15 on one of the scratch tickets I got for Christmas," said one of the claimants. "I cashed it in at Avenue News (in Bristol), and purchased four more tickets — one Powerball, a Mega Millions, a Lotto and a Lucky for Life. The next day I opened my iPad and saw on Facebook that there was a $3 million Mega Millions ticket sold at Avenue News on Christmas Day. I checked the winning numbers, saw I got a couple numbers... and then I realized I had all, but the Mega Ball."

The winning numbers drawn on Dec. 25, 2018 were 2, 8, 42, 43, and 50. The Mega Ball was 6, and the Megaplier was 3. Because the ticket was purchased with the Megaplier feature added, the $1 million prize was automatically multiplied by three for $3 million.

The family did not consent to a photo but CT Lottery claims staffers Flo Votino, Sarah Crespo, Wendy Gasparini and Robin Raboin posed with the ceremonial big check this week to celebrate the big payout.

News story photo(Click to display full-size in gallery)

Patch

Comments

music*'s avatarmusic*

Merry Christmas and Congratulations to the winner. This starts the New Year off right.Dance

gy65

The other Missouri 5+0 winner for that draw date must truly regret NOT paying the extra $1 for the Megaplier!

TheMeatman2005's avatarTheMeatman2005

Congrats on the win!

Nice turnover on the $15 scratcher win.

Bleudog101

Great feel good story.

music* they did the revocable trust like you tell me to.  So my winners can name their own trust when we hit the big one relieving me of that duty.

Four folks I'm sure will be mortgage free.

music*'s avatarmusic*

Quote: Originally posted by Bleudog101 on Feb 8, 2019

Great feel good story.

music* they did the revocable trust like you tell me to.  So my winners can name their own trust when we hit the big one relieving me of that duty.

Four folks I'm sure will be mortgage free.

Bleudog101,  I prefer the term Revocable living trust.  Who are "my winners"?

 A mortgage burning party will be held.

 Good Luck to you and all LP Members with MM tonight and PB tomorrow night!

Bleudog101

In my lottery group that I don't charge members but sent out Notarized letters to each of them.  Have a new member out there in Arizona, but not going to do another notarized letter.

Should have had a mortgage burning party.  When we were in Lake Tahoe last March in blizzard alley, took out the paperwork that we were mortgage free on top of Harrah's casino.

 

Will try to remember living recovable trust, you have to hit me with a stick music*.

dannyct

Immediately paying off the mortgage may not be the best financial decision. It depends on the circumstances, but keeping the mortgage may be best. That is why, winners shouldn't rush into any decisions, especially while they are enjoying the excitement of the win. Get independent, professional legal and financial advice, before doing anything.

Bleudog101

Quote: Originally posted by dannyct on Feb 8, 2019

Immediately paying off the mortgage may not be the best financial decision. It depends on the circumstances, but keeping the mortgage may be best. That is why, winners shouldn't rush into any decisions, especially while they are enjoying the excitement of the win. Get independent, professional legal and financial advice, before doing anything.

Been that way my whole life, paying off credit cards, car notes and the biggest was the mortgage.  Hated owing money period.  No, I never won big, but worked for over 50 years with a strong work ethic that seems lacking these days IMO with some workers.

dannyct

The family were very wise, not consenting to be photographed. It would be in the public domain and the media would continuously use the photograph whenever there was a lottery story in the news

music*'s avatarmusic*

Quote: Originally posted by dannyct on Feb 8, 2019

The family were very wise, not consenting to be photographed. It would be in the public domain and the media would continuously use the photograph whenever there was a lottery story in the news

I Agree! but what about your friends and family having photos of you.  Yearbooks as well. 

Party

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