When the Pennsylvania Lottery launched its $1 million Blockbuster scratch-off game last June, Donna Goeppert got hooked. "I was obsessed," says the Bethlehem homemaker. "Not with winning the million, but they have nice [smaller] prizes—$100, $400, $500." Forget the chump change—on Jan. 11, Goeppert, 55, hit the big one, taking home $667,000 after taxes.
With that windfall, she and her husband, Bill, 62, a retired painting contractor, bought a Caddy, paid off the mortgage and helped out their two grown kids. That still left plenty to spend. For Donna, that meant more lottery tickets. Make that winning lottery tickets: After racking up $1,000-plus more in smaller prizes, she won $1 million again on June 9. "Our jaws dropped," says Julianne Wentz, clerk at Bethlehem's Lump's Deli, who sold the second ticket. "It was unbelievable," says Goeppert. "I just couldn't believe I'd won again."
Neither could Bill, who was annoyed when his wife roused him from a nap. "I thought, 'Now what does she want?'" he recalls. From now on, he'll be a tad more attentive. The couple may use their new wealth to trade their row house for a condo and plan to play—he on the golf course, she in Atlantic City. So, how does it feel to bank all that loot? Says Donna, fast becoming an expert: "You glow."
Your Reaction
