4-time Texas lotto winner rich with money, mystery

Jul 14, 2010, 11:01 am (28 comments)

Texas Lottery

BISHOP, Texas — The odds that Joan Ginther would hit four Texas Lottery jackpots for a combined nearly $21 million are astronomical. Mathematicians say the chances are as slim as 1 in 18 septillion — that's 18 followed by 24 zeros.

Just as unlikely? Getting to know one of the luckiest women in the world.

"She wants her privacy," friend Cris Carmona said.

On a $50 scratch-off ticket bought in this rural farming community, Ginther won $10 million last month in her biggest windfall yet. But it was the fourth winning ticket in Texas for the 63-year-old former college professor since 1993, when Ginther split an $11 million jackpot and became the most famous native in Bishop history.

But she's a celebrity who few in this town of 3,300 people can say much about.

"That lady is pretty much scarce to everybody," said Lucas Ray Cruz, Ginther's former neighbor. "That's just the way she is."

At the Times Market where Ginther bought her last two winning tickets, the highway gas station is fast becoming a pilgrimage for unlucky lottery losers. Lines stretch deep past a $5.98 bin of Mexican movie DVDs, and a woman from Rhode Island called last week asking to buy tickets from the charmed store through the mail.

She was told that was illegal. The woman called back to plead again anyway.

The Texas Lottery Commission has seen repeat winners before, but none on the scale of Ginther. Spokesman Bobby Heith said the agency has never investigated Ginther's winnings — three scratch-off tickets and one lottery draw — for possible fraud but described the verification system as thorough. Her other winnings — both from scratch-off tickets — were $2 million in 2006 and $3 million in 2008.

So how did Ginther do it, then?

Good luck pinning her down to ask.

Ginther has never spoken publicly about her lotto winnings and could not be found for comment. She now lives in Las Vegas after moving away from Bishop, and an answering machine message for a telephone number listed at her address says not to leave a message.

She asked the few people who've exchanged more than brief pleasantries with her not to grant interviews and sneaked into lottery headquarters in Austin to collect her winnings with the least publicity the state offers jackpot winners.

But spend a few hours in her hometown — and equal time scouring public records — and a contrasting profile emerges.

Her home address in Las Vegas is on a street called Paradise Drive. When USA Today asked readers in 2000 to sound off on airline service, Ginther groaned over a flight attendant who carted away her cheese and crackers and a sundae too soon. Two years later, she grumbled to the Las Vegas Review-Journal about a proposed monorail running through her exclusive condominium towers.

"I moved here because I wanted to have a beautiful home with a great view and that's what I have. I didn't expect to have a monorail come down here with thousands of tourists every day," Ginther told the newspaper, in what might have been the only time she was directly quoted in the media.

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Star-Telegram

Comments

luckyshoes's avatarluckyshoes

Zip code for Bishop TX  78343    hey,   its worth a try !!  : )

dpoly1's avatardpoly1

If I ever win "big", I will be a mystery also.

Lots of places to live in the USA !

US Flag

pumpi76

Mathematicians say the chances are as slim as 1 in 18 septillion — that's 18 followed by 24 zeros.

lol...

The Texas Lottery Commission has seen repeat winners before, but none on the scale of Ginther..

i remember there was a news story here in LP cant remember when, not long ago where all across the USA there were repeat winners of scratchoffs some of them winning 3 times i think others 4 but not substantial  prizes....Some of them with funny names...

Stack47

Wonder if she picked her own lotto numbers or bought QPs?

Hiding Behind Computer

louise black

Pure luck!!!! CONGRAT!!!!!!!!!

Halle99's avatarHalle99

Quote: Originally posted by louise black on Jul 14, 2010

Pure luck!!!! CONGRAT!!!!!!!!!

I do agree with you.........thats truly luck.....congrats.........

ressuccess's avatarressuccess

I didn't know that Joan won 4 jackpots.

ThatScaryChick's avatarThatScaryChick

Quote: Originally posted by Stack47 on Jul 14, 2010

Wonder if she picked her own lotto numbers or bought QPs?

Hiding Behind Computer

Well, three of the tickets were scratch offs so no chance of her picking her own numbers, but who knows on the other lottery ticket.

victorl3ichiban's avatarvictorl3ichiban

she is just winning the scratcher. is not like she is hitting the jackpot. still i wish i was in her shoes. i have never win anything big on scratcher.

eddessaknight's avatareddessaknight

BEYOND COINCIDENCE ???

Usually people who move to Las Vegas do so for a purpose, such as a job,retirement or with an agenda of beating the odds!

Could it be that our Professor of mathematics PhD has such a goal?

Vegas is not like Texas, where the public lottery permits repeating winners even if the player had a halo around her headWink   Here, the gambling establishments are in privetly owned status & can and have barred players for winning too often and can do so without giving reason - that's why those signs "NRS 207.200" are posted about all casinos.

Bye the ByeWhatever happend to those famous winning Woba sisters who took up residence in LV?

 

Wishing Long life to the ostensible Lucky Lady, be interesting to see what happens....

EddessaKnight Sun Smiley

Todd's avatarTodd

Quote: Originally posted by ressuccess on Jul 14, 2010

I didn't know that Joan won 4 jackpots.

I posted the news story so you could find out about Joan and her 4 jackpots.

Todd's avatarTodd

Wanna see something pretty cool?

I posted a news story back in 2006 about this same lady when she was just 2 jackpots into her 4-jackpot run:

https://www.lotterypost.com/news/132099

eddessaknight's avatareddessaknight

Quote: Originally posted by Todd on Jul 14, 2010

Wanna see something pretty cool?

I posted a news story back in 2006 about this same lady when she was just 2 jackpots into her 4-jackpot run:

https://www.lotterypost.com/news/132099

Thanks Todd, it's very KEWEL $$$

Hope you continue to follow this fascinating story and see what she does in LV (if Vegas is not a cover story).

Kindly keep us posted.....

And Todd did you ever get any follow up on the mysterious Sisters Woba????

Never could come up with a scrap on them in LV-

 

See what happens in the Land of Ozz

EddessaKnightSun Smiley

 

Todd's avatarTodd

Sisters Woba?  Not sure I remember what that is.

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