December 08, 2010 -- "After 47 years of marriage, what do you give as a present?” said Walter Lawrence of Vernon.  For him, the answer was easy.  “I always buy scratch tickets and put them in a card.”  Ultimately, Walter’s gift of choice made for a perfect selection—worth many times the value of the $3 “Cashword 17” ticket—and one that his wife, Lois certainly appreciated.  While playing the instant ticket together at the kitchen table, the couple discovered that Lois' "present" was worth $25,000, one of the game’s twenty top prizes.

Walter explained to lottery officials how after inserting a $20 bill into a CT Lottery Instant Ticket Vending Machine at Stop & Shop, located at Pitkin Road in Vernon, and making his initial ticket selection, he expected to receive change.  “Then I saw that the machine doesn’t make change; so, I purchased a couple more tickets, including a Cashword 17.

“At first I thought it was a joke.  I was thinking I was on America’s Funniest Home Video show,” said Lois while laughing at her recollection.  Checking the ticket again, Lois flipped it over to try and determine if it was some kind of a trick.  But, the ticket looked good, and Walter didn’t appear to be playing a prank.  “It didn’t seem real,” said Lois.  “If the machine had made change, I would have never bought the winning ticket…and Lois wouldn’t have won the $25,000,” Walter said with a grin in appreciation of the irony.

The happy couple arrived together at CT Lottery headquarters in Rocky Hill recently to claim Lois’ anniversary present—a check for $17,126 (prize value after taxes).  Lois, a retired oil painting instructor, already had some creative ideas about how she would like to spend the money.  “I’m going to finally have my painting studio.”