The old phrase of “you have to be in it to win it”, may not necessarily be true any more. This week, a single woman in the Philippines managed to locate a winning lottery ticket in a shoulder bag she almost handed over to a friend.
The Filipina bought the bag from a local dealer in Davao City, in Mindanao, six months prior to the win, but had barely used it. It was just blind luck that she checked the bag and found the ticket, before giving the bag to her friend.
After finding the ticket, the Filipino woman contacted the Philippine Charity Sweepstake Office to claim the prize, with the company more than happy to cooperate, and revealing that she had won. The woman has not released her identity, but has been declared one of three winners of the May 13 draw. The winning numbers allegedly include the birth dates of her three children, and the woman has kept the same numbers in successive lotteries over the years, with no success until now.
Since landing her win, the woman intends to extend her own business, which involves selling mobile phone accessories. SHe also plans on “saving” for her children’s future. It is unlikely she will have to do much more saving following her jackpot win.
The PCSO lottery game is one of the most popular in the region, with up to 100-million Filipinos competing in the lottery game, in a bid to change their lives. Players normally have a year to claim their prize, with all unclaimed winnings then being donated to charity.
An exact prize total has not been released. It may not be the biggest jackpot win ever (the lottery traditionally offers considerably smaller prizes than other major lotteries), but it is certainly enough for this Filipina to change her life. As is often the case with the lottery stories which make it into the news, this woman just happened to have the right amount of good luck, at the right time. A few minutes longer, and something as simple as not checking a bag, and it could have panned out so differently.
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