Lotto Bonanza for Twenty Belizeans

BY KEISHA MILLIGAN

Belize City, Tues. Oct.20, 2009

Belizeans who first got wind of the rumours probably thought it was all a joke. The winning numbers were themselves a strange combination – 01-02-03-04-05, but to think that 20 persons had actually picked that weird combination – had to be a lie. But when the Belize Times visited the Lotto office on Tuesday, the winners crowded inside the small office were proof that as unbelievable as it was, twenty Belizeans did pick the winning combination in the weekend’s lotto.  According to an official from the gaming company, 17 of them had made arrangements to come in and claim their prize of $2,125 after taxes, and 13 actually showed up.

Most of the winners we spoke to had actually been purchasing those numbers for some time. Only two of the thirteen claimed that it had been a quick pick.

Some of the winners are Sheila Coleman, Benjamin Perez, Nadia Avila, Rosella Nolberto, Isidro Reyes, Virginia Vaughan, Frederick August, Ida Bennett, Sandra Catzim, Sheila Ithadana and Sandra Medrano.

Perez said that he has been buying lotto for a while now. The ticket was a quick pick, he said, and that night he had bought 3 tickets. Sheila said that she was overjoyed until she heard just how many people had won along with herself. She bought her ticket at the Brodies on the Northern Highway, she said.

Nadia Avila told us that she has been buying lotto for a long time, and she selected the winning numbers. She had mixed feelings when she first realized that she had won. She could not believe that so many other people had been lucky, but was jolted to reality when she went to the office today and saw the crowd. Virginia Vaughan felt pretty much the same way, but she wore a huge smile on her face. Looking at it, you can say that you won $2,000 after spending $2.00. How could you lose?

On Saturday Vaughan told one of her cousins who had just come in from the US that she was going to win. When she related her selection of numbers though, her cousin was not encouraged and was astonished when she did win with the set of numbers which she has been buying for about 6 months now.

Frederick August, who travelled from Orange Walk for his winnings, said that he has only bought lotto five times. Whenever he buys, though, he would buy the same set of numbers. He saw the numbers on LOVE TV the Sunday morning and was more than happy. Learning about the other winners, he just comforted himself by saying that there was nothing he could do and that he had still won something.

Isidro Reyes said that he always dreamed of winning the lotto. He never believed that it would be at a time when so many people would win it.

There is still an unclaimed prize for September 16 this year for $57,500. There is a total of 90 days that one has to claim their prize after the purchase date on the ticket. Those numbers were 03-11-18-22-29.

Also there to collect was Lorenzo Garcia, the winner for the $77.500 jackpot that was not claimed from October 14^th. Because he works on the farm, he did not realize that he had won, hence the reason he just came to collect. He intends to use $5,000 immediately and the rest he will use to build a cement house and buy a 4-wheel drive truck so that he can access his farm easier. After taxes he took home $65,875.

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