For most people that play the lottery regularly, the goal is to win a little now and again and maybe someday cash in on a bigger prize.
But bigger prizes seem to be something of a reoccurring theme for one Cheshire resident after she won a $200,000 prize in an instant win game this week, her second time being able to claim a top prize from the Connecticut Lottery.
Mabel Davis, a hairdresser in town who lives on meager means most of the time, is the third top-prize winner in the state's "$200,000 High Stakes Casino” instant game. She won a top prize back in 2003 as well, according to Valerie Lamb, spokewoman for the Connecticut Lottery.
“I looked at the ticket…several times,” Davis told Lottery officials, smiling. “I didn’t want (the prize) to change.”
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It was a pleasant way to end the day for Davis, who won the prize after purchasing the scratch ticket on Monday while running errands around town. She had just stopped at the Sunshine Convenience Store on West Main Street in Cheshire to cash in a small winner she had previously purchased.
There were many options for Davis and what she could have done with the few dollars she earned with the previous game. Instead, she chose to reinvest it into what would become a sizeable change purse.
Davis credits her good fortune to her belief that she’s a very lucky person.
“I have a wonderful husband and a wonderful family that I enjoy spending time with. That’s what makes me especially lucky,” Davis said.
Davis also has other proof that she’s got “Lady Luck” on her side. In 2003, she won another instant game top prize worth $327,500. Davis said that prize money went to purchasing a new home for her and her family.
With the new prize money, Davis said she is now going to pay off a loan, buy a new car and then bank the rest for her family. She received a check for $136,606 after taxes, according to Lamb.
A Lottery retailer since 2004, Sunshine Convenience Store will receive a $2,000 bonus check from the Connecticut Lottery for selling the winning ticket.
The overall odds of winning a prize in $200,000 High Stakes Casino are 1 in 3.54. Of the 4 top prizes in the game; 1 remains to be claimed. Previous top prize winners in the game include David Peters, New London; Joseph Lanoce, Riverside, and Debra Felter, Norwalk.
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Editor's Note: The time of the article's publication has been changed to allow it to make the morning newsletter. It was originally published at 2:47 p.m.
