Staff/The Lawton Constitution
Jennifer Bui hardly plays the lottery but the one time it counted, she did. Bui purchased a Powerball ticket just hours before the drawing for the $1.5 billion jackpot last Wednesday. She didn’t discover until her work break, more than 1 hours after the drawing, that she had won.
Jennifer Bui won $50,000 in the Powerball drawing last week. (Photo: Jennifer Bui Facebook)
Bui initially thought she had only won $100 and it wasn’t until one of her co-workers looked at the ticket and pointed out that she had actually won $50,000 that she realized how much her prize was worth.
Bui has never played the lottery very much. Only when the jackpots are at or near record levels, such as last week, does she sometimes buy a ticket. She wasn’t even sure she was going to buy a ticket to the largest Powerball ever until a conversation with her mother. Her mom said she had a good feeling and Bui was feeling lucky, so she went ahead and bought it.
That lucky feeling paid off to the tune of $50,000. That pales in comparison to the massive $1.5 billion jackpot split between three winnersm a total she fell short of by one number on her ticket, but you won’t hear Bui complain. She doesn’t even plan to keep much of the money for herself. Instead, she wants to donate a sizeable portion of it to charities, including Mission 22, an organization working to raise awareness for veteran suicide, and to the Humane Society of Lawton-Comanche County in Oklahoma.
Bui is a veteran herself, having served in the Air National Guard. She writes on her Facebook page:
“The suicide rate for veterans in our country is alarming. Both active duty members of the armed forces and members of the armed forces that have returned home commit suicide far, far too often. By donating money to #Mission22, I hope to bring awareness to our brothers and sisters in uniform that struggle with thoughts of suicide. Through my donation, I hope they see that there are people in the community that care for them and can help them receive treatment.”
Bui also said she hopes people will be inspired by her giving and do the same.
To read more, click here: http://swoknews.com/local/lawtonian-wins-50000-recent-lottery
