Paul Bashaw, a 65-year-old truck driver in Massachusetts, got some amazing news three days after he announced his retirement, winning the Massachusetts State Lottery scratch-off game. Mr. Bashaw announced his plan to retire on the 17th of July and then, three days later on the 20th, won the $1 million lottery prize.
Mr. Bashaw, didn’t quit and end a few days early, however. Instead, doing the right thing despite his tremendously increased circumstances, stuck it out for the two remaining weeks of his job from when he announced his retirement, giving his employer time to find someone else, and then after he finished his two weeks were up he claimed his lottery prize, the lottery said.
The lottery, describing that decision, said, “On Monday, July 17, Bashaw notified his employer of over 20 years that he would be retiring at the end of the following week. On Thursday, July 20, he purchased his winning ticket. After finishing out his two weeks without telling anyone at work about his incredibly good fortune, he claimed his prize Friday, July 28 at Mass Lottery headquarters in Dorchester.”
When he chose to claim his winnings, Mr. Bashaw apparently chose the one-time payment rather than the longer-term, structured payment. So, his winnings took a bit of a haircut and he collected $650,000 before taxes. He apparently plans on using some of the money for traveling during his retirement.
In a statement provided by lottery officials, Mr. Bashaw reportedly said, “I told my wife there were three things in life I never thought I’d see happen: the Patriots winning the Super Bowl, getting a hole-in-one – that happened five years ago – and hitting the lottery, and now I’ve hit all three.”
The lottery added that the store that sold him the ticket won a bonus for selling the winner, saying, “He purchased his winning ticket at J & J Variety, 360 West Boylston St. in West Boylston. The store receives a $10,000 bonus for its sale of this ticket.”
Win THEN retire? Not this guy! Full story > https://t.co/Pn6t28hdbM pic.twitter.com/BVpudvgr4e
— Mass. State Lottery (@MAStateLottery) August 1, 2023
This wasn’t the only well-timed lottery win in Massachusetts recently. Another Massachusetts resident, Rae Ann Wentworth-Cadieux, was unemployed but recently won a $1 million Powerball Jackpot on July 27. Commenting on that win, she said, “This gift of this win could not have come at a better time for me and my husband. It will give us some needed breathing room until we consider retirement, which is expected to be a little more comfortable and a little early now.”
Interest in the lottery is currently high thanks to MegaMillions now striking a record for the highest ever with an estimated $1.55 billion grand prize, or about $757.2 million if the lump sum cash option is chosen. “With enthusiastic players across the country, many of whom are newcomers to the game, it is indeed likely that there will be a new record Mega Millions jackpot. However, we won’t know for sure until we get closer to Tuesday’s drawing; at this level, jackpots are hard to predict with complete accuracy,” Mega Millions said in a news release on Saturday.
Featured image credit: Mass. State Lottery
"*" indicates required fields