KY Man Wins $2 Million on a Scratch-Off

What an exciting time to be alive in Kentucky in 1989 when the Lottery came to the Commonwealth. Folks couldn't get to their favorite convenience stores quick enough to purchase their tickets.

WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS STAYS IN VEGAS

I was one of those people. I stood in line just like everyone else, made my purchase, scratched it off...only to find a big, fat nothing burger. "It happens," I thought, so I tried again later. No dice. Still one more try...you're getting the picture.

And just when I thought it was simply a matter of that voice in my head saying, "Just don't gamble; it's not for you," I won about $250 in Las Vegas in 1992. It didn't matter, though. I returned to Kentucky only to find my luck with scratch-off tickets was the same.

BUT RUSSELL TURNER OF SOMERSET DOESN'T NEED VEGAS

The same as it had been with ME, that is. It wasn't the same as millions of humans who enjoy great success with scratch-off lottery tickets...like, for instance, Russell Turner of Somerset who scratched one off to the tune of $2 million. And talk about luck ("I'd rather be lucky than good," to quote 1930s New York Yankee pitcher Lefty Gomez AND legendary Indiana hoops coach Bob Knight), Turner snagged the last two Diamond Dazzler tickets on the roll, according to Somerset's Commonwealth Journal.

Seriously, WHAT luck. Turner told the Journal that he stops playing once he wins anything. If he'd only purchased one and it was worth, say, $20, he would have been out $1,999,980. I have to wonder if he'd hire out that angel that was on his shoulder. (And actually, after taxes, he nets just over $1.2 million--I doubt he cares.)

MAYBE IT'S A SIGN

I'd have to agree with Russell Kidder, who left a comment that's along the same lines as something I was thinking.

That's truly amazing considering my luck with those things. I'm not kidding; I have never won a THING on a scratch-off ticket. I enjoy poker, and I had a good time in Vegas. And I put those two together and hung out at the poker machines. That's where I won the 250. Today, that would be just over $480 and I would be dancing in the streets. You should've seen when I won $45 at Ellis Park a few years, having NO idea what I was even doing.

WHAT I WOULD DO WITH $2 MILLION

So, I wonder what Russell Turner will do with that loot outside of purchasing his dream car. The first thing I would do is call an accountant and an attorney and then try to calm down. I'm so easily entertained that I doubt I would go through it very quickly at all. But, yes, I would buy some sort of vehicle and then plan an awesome vacation. And then I would get practical. But the main thing is, I would feel very comfortable; you can't put a price tag on that.

Congratulations, Russell Turner. Yes, like Russell KIDDER, I think you are meant for big things and I wish you well.

[SOURCE: Commonwealth Journal]

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