A lottery player in Essex County bought a scratch-off ticket worth $600,000 last week after pulling into a 7-Eleven to avoid a confrontation with another driver on a local street.
The motorist was traveling on Valley Street in South Orange on June 3 when the day went in a different direction, the New Jersey Lottery said.
“There was a car stopped there,” the player told lottery officials. “And I was just waiting. I honked. Rather than moving, (the driver) just sat there and I could tell he was glaring at me. I did not want the drama, so I decided to pull into the 7-11 that was right there. I said to myself ‘Let me go get a lottery ticket.’”
That proved to be a smart decision as the player bought a Colossal Crossword for $30 and won the top prize by matching 10 words.
As if that wasn’t enough the player also pocketed an extra $100 by buying Pick-3 and Pick-4 tickets while at the convenience store.
“I’m thankful to the person that caused me to stop,” the player said. “In chaos, there’s a blessing.”
The avid lottery player had previously won prizes of $5,000, $1,000, and $700 in the past few months.
Plans are already in place for spending the money.
“I’m at the point where it’s really great to be able to eliminate my debts and help my kids a little,” the player said.
The $600,000 was the first of three top prizes for the game claimed. Two remain in circulation. Lottery officials printed 1,848,880 tickets for the game, which began April 9.
Lottery winners have been allowed to remain anonymous in New Jersey since January 2020.
Stories by Jeff Goldman
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Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com.