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Texas' newest multi-millionaire
"It still hasn't soaked in," he told the Cherokeean Herald. The realtor, who works at Silverleaf Resorts on Lake Palestine, was on his way home Jan. 7 when he noticed he needed fuel. "I pulled into Thompson's Oil on Highway 79 in Jacksonville and decided to buy a scratch-off lottery ticket." He plopped down $25 on a new game called Monthly Bonus, and he was an instant winner with $25. Curtis decided to press his luck with five tickets costing $5 each, and he saw the "magic dollar bill" he was hoping to see on a winning ticket.
No sorcery or magic had changed the icons on the card - they remained the same when he dared to look again. So he asked the clerk for a second opinion. "Hey, Tiger, look at this. Does it say what I think it does?" Curtis went to his car and called his wife of 43 years, Darnell. "Darnell, are you sitting down or can you hold on to something," he asked her from his cell phone. "Are you leaving me?" she joked. As an habitual funny-man and magician, Curtis had trouble delivering news that would be taken seriously - even by his wife. "I just won a scratch off. Guess how much?" Darnell's first guess was $100, then $500, followed by $1,000 and $5,000. Finally Curtis said, "Would you believe it's $10,000 per month for the next 20 years?" The windfall is coming at a great time for the 62-year-old. "This is perfect for retirement." However, the couple says that they don't want the money to change their lives too much. "I'm thinking about going to the barber shop," he quipped. "Darnell has cut my hair for 30 years." His employer at Silverleaf Resorts wanted to know about Curtis' future plans and whether he would continue to work. "Oh, I think I'll work 2-3 days a week." His boss said, "That's all you're working now." Curtis said that the first $2,000 of each monthly paycheck will be earmarked for his favorite uncle - Uncle Sam. A big chunk of the remainder will be invested in trust funds to help secure the future for his children and grandchildren. At the exact instant that Curtis scratched his winning ticket, his fellow church members at Gallatin Baptist Church were scratching their heads and wondering how they would pay for some major capital improvements. "I have a feeling our church will get what it needs," he chuckled. Curtis and Darnell, along with their two children Keenan and Rhonda, will travel to Austin this week to make it all official at the State Comptroller's office. "They are going to televise it and give me an opportunity to make a speech," he said. Curtis said he plans to magically work into his speech a few words about the Texas State Railroad and the need to save the train. "And of course I'll tell everyone my favorite radio station is KWRW," he joked. Curtis worked for the radio stations and this newspaper for five years, beginning his junior year in high school. He confessed to purchasing a few lottery tickets through the years when he thought Darnell wasn't looking. His track record includes two $1,000 jackpots. "This really hasn't soaked in yet," he replied. |
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