Why this $1.6m lottery winner wore a Scream mask to collect winnings
The winner of a $1.6 million lottery has arrived to collect his novelty cheque wearing a scream mask – and he’s got a pretty good reason for it.
Identified only as A Campbell, the winner of Jamaica’s JM$158.4 million Super Lotto arrived at the Spanish Court Hotel in Kingston looking like he was more ready for a Halloween party than anything else.
Decked out in a full-length coat, long pants, gloves and the mask made famous by the horror movie franchise, he arrived incognito in a bid to hide his identity – a common practice in the Caribbean given the high levels of crime and fears of being hounded for money by family and friends.
A regular player, who picks his own numbers, Campbell said he was physically sick after learning of his win – to the point that he actually forgot he won.
It took him 54 days to collect his prize after his numbers were drawn, with lottery officials admitting they were becoming nervous given the 90-day deadline.
“I looked at my ticket and ran into my bathroom and said, ‘I won! I won!’ From the day I found out that I won, I’ve been sick,” he told reporters.
“My head hurt me for three days because I was thinking so much. [Wondering] if what I’ve been longing for really come true. I had a belly ache for two weeks, sometimes I feel so much pain I forgot that I had won.”
He said he plans to start looking for a nice house to buy and expand his business with his winnings.
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