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Man wins $5,000 on his birthday
The Northern Marianas Sports Association Lottery Scratchees has been extremely lucky for one man, who won $5,000 on his birthday last Oct. 7.
The winner, who wishes to remain anonymous, explained, “On the way home after I just bought the ticket, I told my wife ‘You know what? I think this is it’ but she didn’t believe me. Then on my birthday, I had lunch with her and reminded her about what she said to me not too long ago about the ticket. I kept asking her if she remembered…so I just popped out my phone with a picture of my computer. I wrote on my computer ‘look up,’ meaning to look up higher in the photo but she actually looked up at the ceiling in the restaurant. After that, I scrolled up on the picture to show her the ticket and she completely freaked out.”
When asked what prompted him to buy a ticket, he said, “I thought to myself, ‘This would be the best birthday ever’ and I think it was.”
“I didn’t expect it. I just kind of got nervous when I saw it, especially since it was on that day [birthday] Oct. 7. So yeah, I feel excited” were his comments about winning the $5,000.
As to what he plans to do with the money, he said, “We’re planning on saving some, and a portion of it will be spent on our kids. That’s kind of the plan since, you know, Christmas is coming up soon so it’s better to save for that.”
Anicia Lisua, manager of the Northern Marianas Sports Association Lottery Scratchees, was there at Kagman Market to present the check to its winner. The Northern Marianas Sports Association has been selling Scratchees for about a year and a half now to support their activities. “It’s a fundraiser for the Northern Marianas Sports Association for renovations of the gym, sports equipment, and for the kids,” Lisua explained.
When asked how it feels meeting people who have won, she replied “It’s exciting for me as well because I get to award them with their winnings. It makes me feel like I won too.”
A total of 63 stores are currently selling the Scratchees, including ones on Tinian and Rota. About 20 people have won $1,000 and the new winner is the fourth for the $5,000.
