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ALLEGHENY TOWNSHIP, Pennsylvania (KDKA) — What would you do if you won over a million dollars? It’s a fun question to think about, but it is a question that 86-year-old Rita Franczyk now has to consider.
On Sunday, July 19, at the Giant Eagle in Allegheny Township, Westmoreland County, Franczyk bought a $30 scratch-off ticket that made her a millionaire.
“I knew what it said, but I thought, ‘nah,'” Franczyk said. “I took it to the desk, to the clerk and she said, ‘Rita!’ And she had a tear. She cared that much that I won. That was so nice of her. So, we are both having tears. I called my daughter, ‘I’m a millionaire! I won a million dollars!'”
Franczyk says this was her second time playing the new Super Star scratch-off game. The first time she played it, she won $50.
This grandmother of three and great-grandmother of seven says she is grateful for the $1.5 million prize. And since her husband died a few years ago, Franczyk says she’s been living with her daughter and her family.
But now, she’s thinking it’s about time they all get a living upgrade.
“I would like to make a new residence for possibly her and her husband and me, if they’d like to come,” said Franczyk. “I would like to buy a ranch-type, small, average home and move.”
And when asked if she had any advice to lottery players out there who may be on the fence about trying a new game, Franczyk laughed and said, “Take the chance. It’s worth it.”
Franczyk says that just because she won big on this ticket, she’s not going to stop playing the lottery. She anticipates buying more scratch-offs, and who knows, maybe her luck will hold.
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