TRENTON (Dec. 18, 2024) –New Jersey Lottery players have won well over $2 billion in prizes in 2024. Some prizes provide generational wealth. Others alleviate life’s financial headaches or obtain that dream luxury item. Yet, perhaps one of the biggest prizes won this year is a player’s bond with her father.

A school teacher in North Jersey has been a loyal Scratch-Off player for some time along with a few draw games. The Crossword and Bingo Scratch-Offs are ideal. The Pick 4 offers a nice change of pace.

Sure, nobody’s going to turn down a million bucks or a couple hundred grand, but she doesn’t play for those reasons. She buys the games for her 81-year-old father, who lives a few towns up the road with her mother, simply because it brings him joy. It also strengthens their family’s bonds. About three years ago, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, which has since spread to other parts of his body. He has also persevered through open-heart surgery. The family wanted to share their story, but wanted to maintain their privacy.

“The doctor gave him anywhere from seven months to five years to live, and that was three years ago,” said the teacher, who estimates her dad has occasionally won a few hundred dollars now and again. “But, no matter how sick he is—if he has a ticket, he’s fine. It’s not the result. It’s the game. Even if he wins one dollar, he’s excited he won a dollar.”

The father came from Peru to the U.S. with his wife, and four children, shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. He wasn’t able to attend high school in Peru, but he found gainful employment, eventually working as a welder. In that time, his four children earned undergraduate and graduate degrees and are in well-established careers.

“I am who I am because of him. What does it matter how much I spend? Whatever makes him happy. He loves scratching one little number at a time,” the teacher said. “So, I buy games with lots of things to scratch, like the Crossword or the Bingo. It's funny. When he had his heart bypass, I bought him a scratchy. He was scratching tickets like nothing--one little number at the time. It’s the rush of it.”

For the father, the rush means hope.

“You know the last thing that you lose? It’s hope,” the daughter said. “He doesn't qualify for chemotherapy anymore. So, he just has to ride the horse until the end. I had told him that if he can’t do chemo anymore, he must go on a trip.”

Over the last few years, the family has taken the father on two destination vacations, and they have a cruise planned for this summer. That, along with his Lottery tickets from the daughter, gives him something to reach for.

“When I buy him a ticket or when we plan a vacation, it's like he focuses on that goal. It's a benchmark. He's trying to do it because in his mind he’s saying ‘I'm going to go on vacation; I'm going to get my scratches.’”

The father jokes that if he wins, he will pay for the vacation.

“He believes that he's going to win big,” she said.