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St. Patrick's Day a lucky day for Fort Collins woman |
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Written by Jennifer Moore, GDT reports
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Friday, 30 March 2007 |
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Like a lucky leprechaun on St. Patrick's Day, Bettina Cribari won the pot of gold.
Bettina, 40, of Fort Collins, is Colorado's newest millionaire after matching all six numbers in the March 17 $6.9 million Colorado Lottery drawing.
Her jackpot: a cash lump sum of $3.4 million.
The single mother of three received her fate the Sunday following the drawing through e • mail, and thought she was dreaming after reading the numbers for the first time.
"I checked them over and over again, and called my older daughter (Romina) and told her we had all six numbers," she Bettina. "She thought I was kidding and didn't believe me, and checked the numbers herself."
"I was just in shock," said Romina, 19. "When my mom called me I told her leave me alone cause I was sleeping and didn't think it was funny. I ran and told all my roommates and they didn't think it was funny. Then we all had a great big dinner at Red Lobster."
After the realization had settled down, Bettina said, she was off to work.
"(My boss) pretty much thought I was crazy," she said. "They had asked me, 'what are you doing here?'"
Bettina said life will continue as normal. She will invest the money into her children's savings and is planning to donate an undisclosed amount to K99's 28 Hours of Hope for abused children, and to other organizations.
"We aren't doing much with it," she said. "I invested for my children so that when I'm gone they have something to look forward and hopefully an easier future."
Originally from Germany, Bettina moved to Fort Collins in 1992. She officially became a citizen last year and trains alpacas at Stargrazer Ranch, in Loveland, for a living. Romina attends Front Range Community College; daughter Sabrina, 11 and Joe, 9, attend school in Timnath.
"I've already heard from people I haven't spoke to in quite some time," said Bettina. "And I'm sure there will be a few more coming."
Of course, there is some room for spending. Romina bought a sport utlity vehicle, Sabrina went on a shopping spree, Joe received a dirt bike and Bettina...
"I bought myself a new cell phone," she said with a laugh. "I'm taking all the children to Germany in July to see the family. There will be yearly trips to Germany now."
Bettina said she started playing the Lotto a year ago and will continue to quick • pick every Wednesday and Saturday.
She bought her winning ticket from Schrader's Country Store, 7600 Westgate Drive, in Fort Collins and Debbie Mathewson, manager of the store, received a visit from the millionaire the next day.
"It was very exciting," said Mathewson. "It's neat, you know the odds are against you and then the reality of being the store that actually sold the winning ticket hits."
Schrader's Country Store received $5,000 for being the winning ticket venue and Steve Schrader knew exactly how to spend the money. Schrader donated $2,000 to the Larimer County Partners, a mentor organization for children; $2,000 to Matthew's House, which specializes in transitioning youth in Northern Colorado; and $1,000 to the town of Holly, which lost a young resident after a tornado swept through the town Wednesday night.
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ABOUT THE COLORADO LOTTERY
The last lotto winner in Northern Colorado was in 2000.
There are 2,900 Lotto retailers in the state.
• The probability of winning the Lotto jackpot is 1 in 5,245,786.
• Proceeds from the Colorado Lottery are distributed to provide grants, funding for Colorado parks, recreation, open space, trails wildlife and conservation education.
• In 2006, more than $120 million was returned to Colorado.
Source: Colorado Lottery | Only registered users can write comments.
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|  | "Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is Alchemy's first law of Equivalent Exchange. In those days, we really believed that to be the world's one, and only truth." | |
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I am a recent college graduate of Minnesota State University Moorhead. After recieving my B.A. in English and Mass Communications this past August I moved down to Colorado.
I enjoy long walks on the beach, candlelight dinners, and heavy metal. My hobbies include reading and writing, music, movies, and getting drunk. Some of my favorite contemporary authors include Bret Easton Ellis, Chuck Palahniuk, and Kurt Vonnegut. My top movies are anything directed by Kubrick. I enjoy listening to anything that rocks.
Right now I am just trying to get to know Colorado and FoCo better. Mostly in order to find the best drink specials on each day that ends in Y. So if you know where I can get a cheap drunk on, let me know!
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| | My name is Michelle Turley and I'm 28 years old. I live in Severance with my hubbie, Brandon. We have 2 dogs and a cat. We enjoy camping, four-wheeling, and just being in the mountains. I like to cook, clean (go figure), flea market, and play poker. I have so much to say about poker... | |
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