Martinsville Bulletin, Inc.
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204 Broad Street
Martinsville, Virginia 24115
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Maurice Hairston shows his super-sized Lottery winnings. |
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
By ELIZA WINSTON - Bulletin Staff Writer
Maurice Hairston won the ultimate treat this Halloween — half a million dollars from the Virginia Lottery.
Every Saturday, Hairston, 76, of Martinsville, said he spends $100 on lottery games and often gets at least $100 back. However, he said, he wasn’t prepared for his big win last Saturday.
That day, the first game he bought at the Stop In on Greensboro Road, Martinsville, won $100, Hairston said.
“After that, I was just happy to have won my money back,” he said.
But he began scratching off the second game and was happy to see $50 appear.
“I kept slowly scratching off the rest of the ticket,” Hairston said, “and I was shocked to see $500. I kept going and couldn’t believe it. When the ticket was finally completely scratched off, it read $500,000!”
John Haggerty of the Virginia Lottery said the chances of winning the prize claimed by Hairston is one in 1,040,400. Hairston was the second winner to claim the $500,000 Jackpot prize, he said.
Hairston said he was so shocked he was unable to sleep Saturday or Sunday nights. On Monday, his nephew took him to Roanoke’s Virginia Lottery Customer Service Center, where he handed in his winning game ticket. After filling out the necessary paperwork, he said he received the $500,000 check, which he immediately deposited in the bank.
“I’ve always had some money to get through life,” Hairston said, “but I have never had this much.”
He said he might by a new car with his winnings, but probably will put put some of the money into a certificate of deposit (CD) to invest.
Also, Hairston plans to split $100,000 of his prize money between his three sisters. His sisters are ages 70, 72, and 74, and now he hopes to be able to visit them more often.
“I want to travel, but I don’t like driving long distances anymore,” he said. “My daughter keeps reminding me I can afford to travel by plane now.”
Hairston said his daughter asked him to move in with her in Atlanta, but he said he will probably stay in Martinsville for a while. Although he plans to visit her, he has an important reason for staying put.
“I still have my daughter’s cat,” he said. “It belonged to my daughter when she attended high school, stayed with me while she was in college and medical school, and 21 years after my son rescued it from a Dumpster, it’s still here. It’s just old to move now. It would be very unhappy if I moved it to Atlanta.” |
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