Florida Lottery Player Wins $2M After Spending Savings on Daughter’s Cancer Care

The Florida Lottery s latest winner is seemingly most deserving of the prize.

Geraldine Gimblet poses with her $2 million check from the Florida Lottery flanked by her mother, daughter, and Florida Lottery Secretary John Davis. Gimblet s scratch-off prize came just a day after her daughter completed her final chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer. (Image: Florida Lottery)

Lottery officials in the Sunshine State announced last week that Geraldine Gimblet of Lakeland claimed a $2 million scratch-off prize. Gimblet s riches came as a result of the lottery s $2,000,000 Bonus CASHWORD Scratch-Off game that features eight top prizes of $2 million each and 20 second-tier prizes of $100K. The odds of winning one of the $2 million prizes are one in more than 2.85 million.

Gimblet told the Florida Lottery that she purchased the scratch-off at Pipkin Road Beverage Castle in Lakeland. She said a cashier initially told her that he believed there were no more CASHWORD tickets left to be sold. But after she asked him to double-check, the worker found a remaining ticket.

I like the crossword games, Gimblet said in a release. He found the last one.

Gimblet opted for the one-time cash payment of approximately $1,645,000. With Gimblet s $2 million CASHWORD redemption, the Florida Lottery says the game s current print run has three remaining $2 million prizes to award.

Cancer Care

Lottery players across the nation win life-changing prizes daily. But Gimblet s in that her win came just hours after a momentous life occurrence. Gimblet s daughter told the lottery that her mom spent much of her life savings on her recent breast cancer treatment and care.

The day before my mom bought this ticket, I rang the bell and walked out of the hospital after completing my last treatment for breast cancer, commented Gimblet s daughter, who was not named in the Florida Lottery press release. My mom had taken out her life savings to take care of me when I was sick. I m just so happy for her.

Gimblet purchased the ticket on January 5, but redeemed the prize only this month. Top winners of the $2 million CASHWORD can choose the full value of the $2 million advertised prize through 25 annual payments or the one-time cash distribution.

For Gimblet, who chose cash, as is most often the case, her $1.645 million prize will first be . That s the highest federal income tax rate that s applied to individual earners who make more than $539,901 in a year, or $647,851 for couples.

The federal tax reduces Gimblet s payout by about $608,650 for a net prize of approximately $1,036,350. That s presumably much more than the amount she spent on covering her daughter s successful breast cancer treatment.

Chasing Expenses

While the Florida Lottery story about a mother spending her life savings on her daughter s cancer care and then winning the lottery is a heartwarming account, responsible gaming advocates caution that some people are more susceptible to irrational gambling when their financial circumstances change drastically in a short period of time.

Responsible gambling is about using gambling for fun and entertainment s sake. Gambling can become problematic when patrons use it as a source of income or when they gamble with more money than they can afford to lose, Jennifer Shatley, the president of the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling, said in 2020.