$395,832 JACKPOT WON IN FLORIDA
On Jan. 26, 1990, a group of 27 members of the Fraternal Order of Eagles lodge
in Scranton, Pennsylvania, used Gail Howard's 35-number Balanced Wheeling
Lotto System and
won the
Florida Fantasy 5 jackpot.
The first time the lodge members used this Gail Howard winning lottery
system, they won 14 lottery prizes. The second time they used it, they won the
lotto,
FL Fantasy Five first-prize jackpot of $395,832.68. In
addition to the jackpot, they won eight second prizes that paid $404.50 each,
and five third prizes that paid $5 each, giving them an additional $1,238.50.
The lotto tickets were purchased for the group by Fred Welker of Lauderdale
Lakes, Florida, on behalf of the International Lottery Exchange (I.L.E.). Two
of the I.L.E. directors, Fred Gscheidle and Jim Cawley, flew to Florida from
Scranton to claim the big prize along with Welker.
On their return, I flew from New York to Scranton to attend the press
conference, synchronizing my arrival with theirs.
After they stepped off the plane, Gscheidle and Cawley unfurled a huge
five-foot replica of their $395,832.68 check. Triumphantly,
they held the huge check above their heads as we descended on the escalator to
the wildly applauding crowd below. All 27 members and their families had
turned out for the celebration. Everyone was kissing and hugging, and I saw a
few tears of joy.
Flashbulbs were popping and video cameras were emitting steady streams of
light as newspaper reporters and television camera crews from all three
networks recorded the high-spirited event.
Jim Cawley shouted over the pandemonium for silence. He announced that we
were going to give out the checks to each of the 27 winners. One by one they
filed by and graciously thanked me for making it happen with my lotto system.
I gave each one a hug and a kiss and a check for $10,555.52. Welker and Tony
Bliss, lodge president, each had two shares. Cawley and Gscheidle split a
second share.
The
Florida lottery pays the check to one name only. The check was made out to
Fred Welker, so it was Welker's duty to deposit the lottery check in his own
account and write the checks to each of the other winners. Welker confided
that he enjoyed the power trip of writing so many big checks in one day!
The check came at a great time for some. Gscheidle's 23 year-old daughter,
Laura, was to be married soon and the windfall would more than cover the
wedding expenses. Esther Wharton's job was ending on February 2, and her
husband was laid off due to a nearly fatal accident. She said she had never
played the lottery before in her life. Her 12-year old daughter, Tami, wore a
T-shirt which proclaimed, "Tami's Mom Won the Florida Lottery!" Sisters
Rosemary and Sandra Butruce, who each had a share, sported T-shirts covered
with dollar bills pinned to them.
Even a small jackpot win can be an exciting emotional event. The joy
experienced by each of those 27 winners will be a memory long cherished. Their
win is proof that it is better to win a small share of something than to win
100 percent of nothing. Pooling your money with others divides the ticket cost
and multiplies your chances of winning. Pooling also allows you to play my
larger
lotto wheeling systems, increasing your odds.
Three years later, on April 1, 1993, Fred Gscheidle won another
jackpot for his group. This time
he won Pennsylvania's Cash 5 game. But that's
another
story...
|