A long, tough way to go about it, but she’s probably secretly happy she was displaced.
The “Wheel of Fortune” finally turned the right way for New Orleans evacuee Jacquelyn Sherman.
On Tuesday, at Evangeline Downs Racetrack and Casino, she was playing a slot machine patterned after the popular game when she hit the jackpot.
Louisiana Gannett News – OPELOUSAS – The “Wheel of Fortune” finally turned the right way for New Orleans evacuee Jacquelyn Sherman.
On Tuesday, at Evangeline Downs Racetrack and Casino, she was playing a slot machine patterned after the popular game when she hit the jackpot.
Her winnings: $1.6 million before taxes.
“When it happened, I didn’t know what was going on,” Sherman said. “I had just put in my $20 in the “Wheel of Fortune” machine when it hit. My feeling about this win is better than being blessed. Thank you, Lord.”
She also won a bit of fame as media outlets across the globe began Wednesday featuring her story of luck.
Sherman’s road to becoming a millionaire started when Hurricane Katrina threatened New Orleans, leading her to evacuate to her sister’s home in Opelousas.
It so happened that by Tuesday, after more than a month of living with dozens of displaced family members with no real signs of hope on the horizon, Sherman spoke that morning with her niece, Jamie Sherman, about being depressed.
Together, they prayed.
“I told my aunt that God works in mysterious ways and that I had prayed that something good would happen for the whole family to be happy,” Jamie Sherman said.
That “something good” and more would come later that night when Jacquelyn Sherman and her sister Clarissa Sherman decided to take some time out for entertainment and pay a visit to Evangeline Downs Racetrack & Casino. Before she knew what hit her, Jacquelyn Sherman went from having practically nothing to being a millionaire.
“I have to get an attorney and make some decisions about my future,” she said Wednesday at a news conference at the racetrack. “It hasn’t all sunk in right now. I’m tired. We were up very late last night and back here very early. I plan to go home right now and rest, take a nap. I have so many thoughts going through my mind about what to do and how to do it.”
Jacquelyn Sherman’s win is the single largest jackpot won since the casino’s opening.
I’m not sure what to take away from this story. Sure, it’s great that she’s won the million bucks. But seriously, if you’re comfortable enough to be blowing $20 a play in an over-grown slot machine, how down on your luck can you be?
This is a comment about the site and not this post.
I can’t see the search button or its edit field.
I’m using Firefox 1.0.7 on XP, and have configured the default font size to be 16 pts. In Options – General – Fonts and Colors, all font sizes set to 16 and 96 dpi. This causes the calendar to cover the search button and its edit field. I’ll reduce the font size on my end to do a search, but then back to 16 pt it goes.
Just thought you should know.
I really enjoy the blog and check it almost every day.
I had the same thought as Cameron. Moreover, I’m not doing too bad financially, and I’d be reluctant to hit the $20 a play slots. It sounds pretty irresponsible for someone with “nothing” to do so.
It would be interesting to see interviews with all the other people playing the $20 machines who are displaced and didn’t win.
Hopefully, it would serve to discourage irresponsible behavior and the statistically false hope that “you too” can win.
I’m hard pressed to spend $1 on a slot machine :-/