A truck driver on the verge of retirement in West Boylston, Massachusetts, got the surprise of his life on July 20.
On July 17, 65-year-old Paul Bashaw told his employer he was planning to retire, but little did he know, a simple purchase a few days later would make that decision much more exciting, WCVB reported Thursday.
After making his big announcement, he bought a winning lottery ticket for the scratch-off game on July 20.
However, Bashaw did not shout the news from the rooftops. Instead, he finished his two weeks of work and kept the news of his big win to himself, the Massachusetts State Lottery said in a news release.
On July 28, he went to claim his prize at lottery headquarters in Dorchester and offered a big smile when he was handed the giant check.
“I told my wife there were three things in life I never thought I’d see happen: the Patriots winning the Super Bowl, getting a hole in one – that happened five years ago – and hitting the Lottery, and now I’ve hit all three,” stated Bashaw, who is getting ready to celebrate turning 66 years old in a few months.
The winner chose the cash option and took home a single payment of $650,000 before taxes and plans to spend some of it on nice trips.
“He purchased his winning ticket at J & J Variety, 360 West Boylston St. in West Boylston. The store receives a $10,000 bonus for its sale of this ticket,” the lottery noted.
Another Massachusetts resident named Rae Ann Wentworth-Cadieux found herself unemployed, but to her delight, she won $1 million from the Powerball Jackpot, Breitbart News reported on July 27.
“This gift of this win could not have come at a better time for me and my husband,” she said. “It will give us some needed breathing room until we consider retirement, which is expected to be a little more comfortable and a little early now.”
More recently, a group of eleven female sanitation workers who joined forces to buy a $3 lottery ticket won India’s jackpot, taking home 100 million rupees, or $1.2 million, according to Breitbart News.
“I’m swimming in debt, so this money will be a big relief,” one mother of four children explained, adding, “I will finally have peace of mind. But my tension will vanish only when the money comes into my account.”