Persistence pays off for Tennessee lottery player

Mar 23, 2004, 4:32 am (Post a comment)

Tennessee Lottery

Winner of $50,000 Jumbo Bucks jackpot to donate portion for cancer research

Shirley Martin says she's spent about $10 a day on lottery tickets since the games started in January. On Sunday night, her persistence paid off - big time.

The Benton County, Tennessee woman won $50,000 in the scratch-off game "Jumbo Bucks," buying her winning $2 ticket at the Tiger Mart in Bruceton, where she used to work.

When the games first started, Martin got hooked after winning $6 on a scratch-off ticket.

"It just kept growing on me," Martin said Monday in a phone interview.

Martin is the biggest winner by far for the Tiger Mart, said store manager Carolyn Aylor. About a month ago, a customer won $1,000 and shortly after that the store had a $500 winner, Aylor added.

The $50,000 prize is the highest possible for "Jumbo Bucks," said Kym Gerlock, lottery spokeswoman. The new game was only introduced last week, she added.

Martin plans to donate some of her winnings to cancer research in honor of her mother, who died four years ago of colon and liver cancer.

"That's all I've got planned to do with it," she said. "Guess, I'll just stick the rest of them in the bank."

After driving to Nashville to pick up her winning check Monday, she was already back at the Tiger Mart in Bruceton by afternoon, buying more tickets. Despite her big win, she has no plans to stop playing the game any time soon.

"I like playing over here at the Tiger Mart," Martin exclaimed. "It's fun!"

Jackson Sun

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