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20 YEAR NAVY VET GETS $5.2 MILLION EASTER SURPRISE!
April 14, 2009
OLYMPIA — Easter Sunday was an emotional morning for Daniel Melendez and his wife Norma when the couple realized they'd won $5.2 million in the state's lottery. The Bremerton couple won the Lotto jackpot from a ticket purchased at a Bremerton gas station where Daniel stopped on Saturday to fill up.
Norma was on the phone Sunday morning with her sister in Phoenix when Daniel decided to check the newspaper and the winning numbers. "My hands started shaking!" exclaimed Daniel, who works as a welding company supervisor. "Norma, put the phone down," He told his wife. "Hang up the phone!" After the third time he asked her to hang up, Norma turned to Daniel and saw his face. "I thought he'd read something bad in the newspaper," she recalled. "It was obvious that something had shaken him up."
Daniel went into the bathroom to splash some water on his face and looked up to see his reflection in the bathroom mirror. "I looked up in the mirror and I was just white! I had lost all my color," he remarked. When he returned to the next room, Norma had now seen the ticket and was crying. "We just hugged and cried and laughed and cried again for about five to ten minutes," exclaimed Norma. "It was surreal; like everything was in slow motion. I kept looking at the ticket thinking the numbers would change because you just can't believe it."
Daniel plans to retire and Norma will continue her job running the gift shop at the Clearwater Creek Casino. Daniel spent 20 years in the navy and retired in 2006, Norma says they have been blessed. "We were very lucky that Daniel did twenty years in the Navy without getting hurt, we feel very fortunate.' The couple knows that many people in this economy are not as fortunate and plan to devote some of their time to volunteer at charities such as their local food bank.
The Melendez ticket was purchased at Jim's Eastside Service Station in Bremerton on Wheaton Way. For their efforts, Jim's will receive a $52,000 retail selling bonus for selling the winning ticket.
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