18/05/2005
Rita Tuttle, a 72-year-old Sealy resident, couldn't believe her eyes. She had just scratched a Monthly Money instant lottery ticket and realized she may have "won something big."
"It just seemed too simple," Tuttle said. "I'm still numb!"
Tuttle was running some errands on a Friday afternoon, and says she felt drawn to go to the Wallis Quick Stop, located at 6101 Commerce Street in Wallis, to purchase a scratch-off lottery ticket. She waited until she arrived home to play the game. After looking at the ticket, and not knowing for sure whether she had won anything, she took the ticket to show her husband, Arthur. He wasn't sure if it was a winning ticket either.
The couple waited until Sunday morning, and then took the ticket back to the store where Rita had purchased it. They waited until the store was almost empty of customers before giving the ticket to the clerk for verification.
"First, he asked me 'if I knew how much I had won,"' Tuttle said. "Then he just said 'congratulations.'"
The Tuttles have been married for 49 years and Mr. Tuttle is retired. Rita has worked at the Willow River Farms Center for the last 10 years as an artisan trainer.
"It's very rewarding work," she replied.
Tuttle explains their immediate plans for the money is to do some work on their home, and be very conservative with the remainder of their winnings.
Monthly Money, launched last month, pays $2,500 a month for five years for a total prize amount of $150,000. Players win by matching any of their numbers to the lucky numbers shown, or if you're as lucky as Rita Tuttle, scratching-off a "Dollar Bill" symbol, and winning $2,500 for five years. |