A Florida woman named Geraldine Gimblet has a lot to celebrate these days. The day after her daughter completed breast cancer treatment, she went to a gas station to purchase a scratch-off. Initially, the clerk assumed all the “$2,000,000 BONUS CASHWORD Scratch-Off game” were sold out, but she asked him to check again and she snagged the last one.
She was the sole winner of the grand prize and opted to cash out with a lump-sum payment totaling $1,645,000. The odds of winning at 1 in 3.9 million. “I asked him to double check because I like the crossword games the best,” Gimblet explained in a statement. In CASHWORD, players are given 20 letters and three separate chances to match three or more words in each game with their letters and win the cash prize listed, with the chance of doubling it with a “MONEYBAG” symbol.
The win was especially endearing because Gimblet had spent her life’s savings on her daughter’s cancer treatments. Gimblet’s daughter’s detailed the moment, adding, “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, her daughter, and granddaughter all took the trek to the Florida Lottery Headquarters in Tallahassee, where Chief of Staff Reggie Dixon, joined them in celebrating the winning ticket.
It was purchased from the Pipkin Road Beverage Castle, located at 1170 West Pipkin Road in Lakeland, Fla. The local retailer will receive a $2,000 bonus commission for selling the winning scratch-off.