Socialites, get into this… A Florida mother who spent her life savings to help treat her daughter’s breast cancer won a $2 million lottery jackpot one day after the woman completed her treatment.
According to reports, Geraldine Gimblet from Lakeland, Florida, stopped by a local gas station to purchase a scratch-off but was told by the clerk that they were all out of tickets. “At first the gas station clerk thought there were no tickets left, but I asked him to double check because I like the crossword games the best,” Gimblet said at a press release following her win.
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It turned out that the clerk was able to find one Bonus Cashword Scratch-Off card, which she ended up buying for $10 — and much to her surprise, it was the winning ticket with a prize of $2 million. Gimblet, alongside her daughter and granddaughter, wasted no time heading to the Florida Lottery headquarters in Tallahassee to claim the jackpot, having opted for a one-time payment of $1.64 million, the lottery site reveals.
It’s quite a coincidence that just one day after her daughter successfully completed the breast cancer treatment Gimblet had paid for, she finds herself winning the lottery. Finding out about the incredible news brought the daughter, whose name was not publicly disclosed, to tears of joy, as she said, “The day before my mom bought this ticket, I rang the bell and walked out of the hospital after completing my last treatment for breast cancer. My mom had taken out her life savings to take care of me when I was sick. I’m just so happy for her.”
Gimblet traveled 260 miles with her daughter and granddaughter to the headquarters, and what a ride that must have been for them, knowing that they were en route to pick up the money that was sure to cover the cancer treatment and so much more.
Reggie Dixon, the Chief of Staff at the lottery, welcomed Gimblet and her family and took care of the payout, while Pipkin Road beverage Castle, the retailer where the winning ticket was sold, received a $2,000 bonus.
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Gimblet’s win comes just weeks after a Virginia man named Benjamin Baker won the lottery twice in the same drawing with a combined prize of $300k.
In an interview with the Virginia Lottery, Ben Baker said that he had nothing to hide and that he played the lottery like everyone else. He said that he had no inside information and that he had not cheated in any way. Ben Baker’s wins were the result of luck and persistence, and nothing more.