"It's not the result. It's the game."
By Kate Northrop
During the season of peace and cheer, there's no better time to discover how one New Jersey family's touching story of hope revolves around the shared love of lottery games and the excitement it brings to an ailing father.
An anonymous family connected with the New Jersey Lottery to share their story of how playing the lottery — scratch-off games in particular — have kindled more than just a dream of generational wealth, but a close-knit bond between father and daughter.
While the lottery is known for stoking the thrill of imagining a lifestyle of luxury, vacations, and financial comfort, a schoolteacher plays for a different reason. She buys lottery tickets for her 81-year-old father purely because it brings him joy.
A regular crossword and bingo scratch-off fan herself, the daughter occasionally purchases a Pick 4 ticket as well. However, she always remembers to deliver some to her father, who lives with her mother a few towns up the road.
About three years ago, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, which has since spread to other parts of his body. He has also undergone open-heart surgery. The family declined to share their names to maintain their privacy while simultaneously sharing their story through the Lottery.
"The doctor gave him anywhere from seven months to five years to live, and that was three years ago," the teacher told the Lottery. She estimated her father had occasionally won a few hundred dollars here and there.
"But, no matter how sick he is — if he has a ticket, he's fine," she continued. "It's not the result. It's the game. Even if he wins one dollar, he's excited he won a dollar."
Her father emigrated from Peru to the United States with his wife and four children shortly before the terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. He was unable to attend high school in Peru but found employment to support his family and took on a career as a welder. Throughout the duration of the family's new life in the U.S., he witnessed all four children receive undergraduate and graduate degrees and excel in well-established careers.
"I am who I am because of him," his daughter said. "What does it matter how much I spend? Whatever makes him happy. He loves scratching one little number at a time. So, I buy games with lots of things to scratch, like the Crossword or the Bingo. It's funny. When he had his heart bypass, I bought him a scratchy. He was scratching tickets like nothing — one little number at the time. It's the rush of it."
It isn't just the temporary thrill of uncovering those hidden numbers that fuels his love of the lottery — it's the hope.
"You know the last thing that you lose? It's hope," the daughter said. "He doesn't qualify for chemotherapy anymore. So, he just has to ride the horse until the end. I had told him that if he can't do chemo anymore, he must go on a trip."
The family has taken the father on two destination vacations over the past few years and have a cruise planned for this coming summer. Similarly to how lottery tickets give him something to reach for, these trips are always something to look forward to.
"When I buy him a ticket or when we plan a vacation, it's like he focuses on that goal," the daughter explained. "It's a benchmark. He's trying to do it because in his mind he's saying, 'I'm going to go on vacation; I'm going to get my scratches.'"
If he ever wins the lottery, he'll be paying for the vacation, the father joked.
"He believes that he's going to win big," she added.
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What a wonderful story, I hope they get a nice win.
Good Luck to them!!