Sunday Times 2
Revealed: The woman who lost $590 million
Mindy Crandall let elderly lottery winner cut in line before she bought the winning ticket
The woman who claims to have allowed 84-year-old Powerball winner Gloria Mackenzie cut in line when she bought her lucky ticket said today she doesn’t regret the decision – even though it might have cost her $590million. Mindy Crandall, 34, says allowing the elderly Mackenzie to buy her lottery ticket first taught her young daughter an important lesson about kindness.
When Mackenzie came forward on Wednesday to finally claim her prize – two weeks after the record May 18 drawing – she thanked the anonymous woman who let her cut in line at that Publix grocery store in Zephyhills, Florida. Mackenzie has since left the tin-roof duplex where she resided in Zephyrhills and moved in with her son Scott, who lives in a modest home in a working-class neighborhood in Jacksonville. She said she plans to split her winnings with him.
Neighbors say the elderly millionaire plans to continue living with Scott in Florida – albeit in a slightly bigger home. It’s unknown how she will split her winnings with her other three children and her grandchildren. ‘It could have been us, but things happen. Sometimes it’s better to be patient than right. I knew we were teaching our daughter the right thing,’ told ABC News.
Mrs Crandall says she believes she is the woman Mrs Mackenzie was talking about when she revealed in her public statement: ‘While in line at Publix, another lottery player was kind enough to let me go ahead of them in line to purchase the winning Quick Pick ticket.’ Mrs Crandall, who lives in Zephyhills – the same small city where Mrs Mackenzie retired, told ABC News that she still remembers the elderly woman who stepped in front of her while she was waiting in line to buy her Powerball tickets last month.
Mrs Crandall says she was tending to her children at the time and didn’t notice that someone had cut the line. ‘My 10-year-old said, “Mom, There’s a lady in front of us.” I noticed that the lady was there. Didn’t pay a lot of mind to it,’ she told ABC. When Mrs Mackenzie made it to the register, the clerk motioned for Mrs Crandall to come forward instead. Mrs Crandall waited. ‘Go ahead,’ she told the elderly Mrs Mackenzie.
‘The joke was, that’s the lady that’s going to win it. I was like, “Yeah right. No one is going to win from little Zephyrhills,” Mrs Crandall said.
Mrs Mackenzie, a widow and with four children and at least four grandchildren, also said in her statement that she is planning to split her winnings with her son, 54-year-old Scott Mackenzie, who lives in Jacksonville, Florida.
She declined to appear at the Florida Lottery news conference announcing her winnings on Wednesday and refused to speak with reporters as she left lottery headquarters. She opted to take the lump sum payment of $370million – which will result in winnings after taxes of about $278million.
© Daily Mail, London
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