Champagne wishes and caviar dreams in the Valley?
‘Jackpot fever’ takes hold as Mega Millions pot multiplies
jbissonnette@pawtuckettimes.com
BELLINGHAM — Thanksgiving is a month away. We’re still two months from Santa Claus coming down the chimney on Christmas. Yet the spirit of giving was thriving on Saturday morning, as scores of people from northern
Rhode Island said they knew exactly what they’d do if they won the $1.6 billion Mega Millions jackpot.
They’d give it to others.
Leo Lozeau, originally from Cumberland but now a resident of Palmetto, Fla., was making a quick stop at the Hilltop Farms convenience store on Pulaski Boulevard before heading off to his granddaughter’s wedding on Saturday.
“This could be the lucky ticket...” he said of buying a ticket on the day his granddaughter was getting married. “It would be one heck of a wedding gift!”
And what would he do if that turned out to be the lucky ticket? “Oh my God, I’d take care of a lot of people, a lot of charities – St. Jude, brain cancer – I’d help a lot of people.”
That said, he’d also use some of the winnings on himself: “I’d probably buy a couple of nice cars,” he said.
Many in the region awoke Saturday morning to find out that no one won Friday night’s Mega Millions drawing, meaning the estimated $1 billion grand prize climbed to a record-breaking $1.6 billion, according to the Associated Press.
With no tickets matching the six numbers necessary to claim Friday’s top prize, the next drawing will come on Tuesday. The $1.6 billion jackpot would be the largest prize in United States history, just surpassing the $1.58 billion Powerball drawing from January 2016, according to the AP.
But while the odds aren’t exactly in the favor of players – according to the AP, the chance of winning the grand prize is one in in 302.5 million – that didn’t stop people from lining up at Hilltop Farms early Saturday morning.
Woonsocket resident John Priest said he’s no stranger to winning in the lottery, as he claimed a $2,000 prize last month and $1,500 last Christmas, but those tickets came to him as gifts. On Saturday, he was rolling the dice and buying himself a ticket for the first time in 20 years.
“I haven’t lost yet...” he said with a laugh. “I’m going to give it to my grandchildren. I don’t need it. I’ll just give it back. It’s just fun for winning.”
Franklin, Mass. resident Margie – who requested that her last name not be published – said she’d use the billion dollars to pay her bills, then pass on the remaining winnings to her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
“I’d pass it down, make sure they all have cars and new houses,” she said. “It’s more than anyone can do with. Being a billionaire? That’s more than anyone knows what to do with.”
“I’d give it to people, to help people in need,” she added. “It’s more than I’d ever spend.”
Bellingham native Mike Galbraith said he’d pay off his bills and his family’s bills before donating a portion to charities that aid veterans of the Vietnam War.
“It’s scary. I don’t really know what to do with it all...” he said. “I might buy myself a yacht. I grew up on the Cape and used to have a 30-footer.”
Jim Thifault of Woonsocket said “a lot of family members will be retired” if he ends up winning the grand prize. He’s won $1,000 on five separate scratch tickets in the past, so luck has been on his side in the past.
As a basketball referee and softball umpire, Thifault said he’s worked closely with the Special Olympics and he said that organization would be a beneficiary of some of his billion-dollar winnings.
“Anything I wanted? I’d just pay some bills,” he said. “I’m 66, I’m retired, there’s not a whole lot I need. But family and friends, you grow up with them and you take care of them … I come from a family of 12 in a city, you give back and take care of family.”