TRENTON, N.J.—A park ranger furloughed during the partial federal government shutdown has claimed a $29.5 million lottery jackpot.
The New Jersey Lottery on Wednesday, Feb. 20, announced Judith Smith had purchased the winning Dec. 17 Pick-6 ticket days before the shutdown closed the Fort Wadsworth recreation area in Staten Island, New York.
The Bayonne, New Jersey, resident and her two children put the ticket in a safe place while seeking legal and financial advice before claiming the jackpot.
The Pick-6 jackpot is the state’s largest since May 2004.
Smith works for the National Park Service, out of the historic Fort Wadsworth site in Staten Island, New York, which was impacted by the shutdown.
More Impressive 2019 Lottery Winners
Earl Livingston, of Blackwood, New Jersey, was on his way to a local store to buy a lottery ticket when he fell and broke his hip. After being taken to Jefferson Stratford Hospital, the 87-year-old shared with hospital staff about his disappointment.With that, Livingston joined 141 hospital staff in the hospital’s lottery pool, in which each staff member had contributed $2.
They ended up winning a $1 million ticket, and each participant took home roughly $4,500 after taxes.
Livingston’s nieces were skeptical at first, and wondered if the news was real.
“I didn’t believe him when I got here,” Mickle said. “I thought he was confused, maybe from pain meds. And then the staff came into the room and they were saying congratulations. And I was like, ‘Wow, he really did win.’”
His family members were most grateful to the staff’s assistance.
Another lucky person from Long Island purchased the winning ticket to the year’s first Mega Millions drawing, held on Jan. 1. That ticket is worth $425 million.
The Lottery–a Voluntary School Tax
The lottery is not just a state-sponsored gambling service. The lottery is actually designed to raise funds for schools.Most schools are funded by property taxes, which means schools in poorer neighborhoods—which often need the most help—generally have the smallest budgets. This can reflect in facility maintenance, teacher retention, special program availability, and ultimately the outcome of each child’s education.
“It takes into account both a school district’s size and its income level; larger, lower-income school districts receive proportionately larger shares of Lottery school funding.”
The New York Lottery is North America’s largest and most profitable state lottery, raising $3.37 million in education aid in the 2017-2018 fiscal year—13 percent of the state’s education aid budget.
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