ECONOMY & WORK
MONEY 101
NEWS
PERSONAL FINANCE
NET WORTH
About Us Contact Us Privacy Policy Terms of Use DMCA Opt-out of personalized ads
© Copyright 2023 Market Realist. Market Realist is a registered trademark. All Rights Reserved. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.
MARKETREALIST.COM / NEWS

Great-grandmother completes her breast cancer treatment — then wins $5 million jackpot out of nowhere

A random purchase on the way back home made her celebration of life even better.
PUBLISHED OCT 15, 2024
Cover Image Source: (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Cover Image Source: (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

It's hard to imagine a light at the end of the tunnel while one is fighting for life, but once you overcome the struggle, life can turn out to be better than before. Such is the story of a Pennsylvania woman named Donna Osborne who had just finished her breast cancer treatment before visiting her daughter in Florida. But since the flight was delayed, Osborne decided to head back home and bought a scratch-off ticket for "MONOPOLY Own it All" on her way back. It was this random decision that transformed her life.



 

After scratching the ticket in the parking lot, the woman quickly realized that she had struck gold. "I could not believe my eyes!" Osbourne said. "I went back into the store and said, 'Can you please check this? Is it right or wrong?" The clerk soon broke the news to her that it was indeed right. While suddenly winning $5 million felt like a dream, Osborne also realized that it came at a time when she had just finished her treatment, while her birthday was just around the corner.



 

"We wish Donna the best of birthdays as we celebrate her for winning this big Scratch-Off prize,” Secretary of Revenue at the Pennsylvania Lottery, Pat Browne, said in a press release. "Donna told us that she’s been playing the Lottery for a long time, and it’s thanks to players like her that the PA Lottery is able to not only create millionaires but also help seniors live a good life," he added. According to Pennsylvania Lottery, the chances of winning the prize for MONOPOLY Own It All is just 1 in 3.93.

Just like Osborne, a man named Jimmie Smith also stumbled upon a fortune in unexpected circumstances. The retired security guard decided to go through his closet after he heard an announcement on television that the winner of a particular lottery hadn't turned up to claim the money. "We urge New York Lottery players: Check your pockets. Check your glove box. Look under the couch cushions. If you have this winning ticket, we look forward to meeting you," Gweneth Dean, director of the Commission’sDivision of the Lottery, said at the time.

Cover Image Source:  New York Gaming Commission
Image Source: New York Gaming Commission

Smith who was into buying a lot of lottery tickets, had an old shirt with a pocket full of them. Upon searching, he found the lucky ticket that he saw on TV. " I ended up with a stack - a pile of tickets, including the one they were talking about on the news," he told a lottery official, according to NJ.com. "I stood there for a minute thinking, ‘Do I see what I think I see?" he told NJ.com before adding, "I was in serious doubt. I had to convince myself this was real." Soon, Smith found the ticket and had more than $24.1 million to his name. His winning numbers were 5-12-13-22-25 and 35, and the ticket was bought from a grocery and tobacco shop in Lower Manhattan, according to the reports.

MORE ON MARKET REALIST
The machine has also malfunctioned on other occasions leading to similar tactics from Carey.
5 hours ago
The seasoned host was dumbstruck by the players incredible Fast Money round performance.
6 hours ago
Trey Brown was once backed by music producer Sean 'Diddy' Combs who helped him raised funds.
7 hours ago
There are worse times to take a bathroom break but this was definitely one of the funniest moments.
1 day ago
The incident suggests that there is a limit to everything, even Costco's generous return policy.
1 day ago
The host made a amajor blunder in the bonus round with the timer running out on the contestant.
1 day ago
Although the couple made millions, the panel on Shark Tank had a different vision for their business. 
1 day ago
The host sympathized with the repeated failure and even asked the audience for good luck.
1 day ago
It's not easy to get puzzles right on the show but sometimes, the show is graced by pure genius.
1 day ago
The host is experienced but he never saw what was coming when the mother-daughter duo were elated.
2 days ago
The three-time Grammy winner impressed the fans and the host with her witty answers.
2 days ago
The show has undergone several changes in a year and more are on the horizon.
2 days ago
This may be a new TikTok record for using a Costco item for the longest time before returning it.
3 days ago
Viewers said she was only the third contestant to ever get to play for a $100,000 bonus.
3 days ago
Jack Bonneau might not have clinched the deal that he wanted but he made most of his opportunities.
4 days ago
The mathematically challenged player who was playing "Do the Math" needed some help from the host.
4 days ago
In his long run on the show, Harvey has come across the weirdest survey questions and answers but wasn't flustered.
4 days ago
Sometimes even as a host, it's hard not to root for certain contestants showing potential.
4 days ago
Drew Carey has seen a lot on the popular game show over the years and shocking him isn't that easy.
5 days ago