New Orleans man wins first $25K Prize

[floater]

How poetic.

New Orleans man wins jackpot

By Tony Thornton
The Oklahoman

A New Orleans man who fled that city after Hurricane Katrina has become the first $25,000 jackpot winner of the Oklahoma lottery.
Caronell E. Allen, now living in Bethany, claimed his prize at 8:30 a.m. Monday morning, about 22 hours after a Buy for Less store clerk told him he had won.

Allen visited the store at NW 23 and Council for no other purpose than to buy a $5 ticket. It was hardly his first such purchase since lottery ticket sales began Thursday.

"I have a drawer full" of losing tickets, he said.

Allen plans to put the money in the bank and add it to his anticipated earnings as a construction site laborer. He got the job the day before he bought his winning ticket.

"Everything's looking up," he said.

As of Friday afternoon, the lottery's two $2 games had produced 11 $5,000 winners, and the $1 game had generated 20 prizes of $777 each. But no one had won the jackpot on the $5 game until Allen showed up on the Lottery Commission office at 3817 N Santa Fe.

Allen arrived in Bethany with his brother-in-law and 11 other relatives about a week after Katrina struck the Gulf Coast. Allen said a nephew already lived here.

As for Oklahoma, Allen said, "I love it. I loved it when I got here." Jim Scroggins, the lottery's executive director, figures Allen's prize probably created a lasting impression.

"Oklahoma just got a new permanent resident," Scroggins said.

[Luke]

Cool!

[sweetdaisy]

That's fantastic!

Thanks for sharing the story with us, floater. It made me smile.

[Shaggy]

That's fantastic!

Thanks for sharing the story with us, floater. It made me smile.

So, an evacuee comes to Oklahoma City with nothing, and then goes to a grocery store just to buy a lottery ticket. He says he has a drawer full of losing tickets. Yes, he got very lucky this time, however, where did he get the money? Was it donated to him from FEMA or the Red Cross? If so, then maybe we should quit giving money to evacuees if all they are going to do waste the money by playing the lottery. There are many people suffering out there that can use the money, however, this guy doesn't care about anything else but to buy a lottery ticket.

[Karried]

I'd say he made a wise investment purchase - $25K Not bad .....

[dirtrider73068]

Good for him a hurricane comes and demolishes his home town and he comes here and wins 25K, thats a good start to a new begining.

[okieopus]

Shaggy, your posts are really negative. He was lucky. you also don't know that he used fema money or donations for the tickets. Stop making those kind of accusations if you cant back them up.