By Adrian Frater, News EditorWESTERN BUREAU:
"I HAVE been waiting for this day for 20 years," declared a smiling 65-year-old ex-journalist-turned- businessman, as he shared a bottle of champagne with two of his friends at the Casa Mariner Hotel & Resort in Westmoreland, where he purchased the winning $140 million lotto ticket the previous day.
"All now it has not yet sunk in," said the happily married father of five, who asked The Gleaner not to identify him until Supreme Ventures, the company that operates the lotto game, does. "I have been trying to win the New York lotto for many years but I never won even a free ticket, so you can understand how pleased I am."
Although the winning numbers had been public knowledge from Wednesday night, the lucky winner was unaware of his good fortune until yesterday morning when his friend, Manley Wallace, the proprietor of Casa Mariner Hotel & Resort, called him to report that somebody, who bought a ticket at his establishment, had won the $140 million jackpot.
KISSED TICKET
"He told me the winning numbers and I went and checked my ticket and to my surprise, I discovered I was holding the winning ticket in my hand," said the happy businessman, who admitted to kissing the ticket, writing his name on it and then stomping it with his shoes.
Relating the story leading up to him buying the winning ticket, the ex-journalist, who lived in the United States for a while before resettling in Jamaica, said when he went to Casa Mariner to buy his ticket, his friend, Mr. Wallace, was at the machine but he decided against buying the ticket from him, choosing instead to wait until the regular cashier, Claudette Ewart, returned to the machine.
"I told him I am not buying any ticket from him because he was 'salt'," said the smiling lotto winner, who said he subsequently bought his quick-pick ticket from the female.
QUICK PICK
In explaining the rationale behind his decision to buy a quick-pick ticket as opposed to buying pre-selected numbers, the businessman said that he knew from experience that most of the previous winners had used quick-pick tickets to come up with the winning numbers.
One of his daughters, who is home on vacation from college and was at her father's business place assisting her mother, was perhaps the most composed member of the family. According to her, winning the lotto is the best thing that could have happened to her dad, who she claimed had been having some trying times over the past three years.
"Gunmen have held up our business place three times in the last few years," said the 22-year-old student. "The last time the place was robbed, they roughed up my dad and stole his licensed firearm."
With the misfortune of recent times now behind him, the new multimillionaire is now looking to the future with great optimism. He acknowledged that he will have some very important financial decisions to make before long but claims he was not making any plans until the money was in his hands.
"Right now I feel like buying a Rasta wig and going off to some quiet place to cool out," said the relaxed businessman, as he raised his champagne glass in a celebratory manner. "I not saying anything more until I have a little talk with Supreme Ventures."
The Government applies a 15 per cent tax on lottery winnings above $15,000.
