Barbara Ellington, Senior Gleaner Writer
Supreme Ventures' president and chief executive officer, Brian George (left) hands Percival Thompson his $100 million lottery cheque at a function in Kingston yesterday. - CONTRIBUTED
WHEN PERENNIAL lotto player, 57-year-old Percival Thompson, checked his lottery tickets several weeks ago, he could hardly believe his eyes. So stunned was the Port Maria, St. Mary carpenter at what he saw that he immediately called his girlfriend to have her read back the winning lotto numbers to him.
It was only then that he realised his life had changed forever. After years of trying, Mr. Thompson was now the proud winner of the second largest jackpot in the nation's history: $100 million. Last year, a Westmoreland resident won a record $140 million jackpot.
BUYS REGULARLY
In an interview with The Gleaner yesterday after visiting the Supreme Ventures Limited head office to collect his prize, Mr. Thompson said he buys $500 worth of lottery tickets regularly, and plans to continue doing so.
His strategy, he disclosed, is to pick eight numbers every year then, "I jumble them and come up with a set of 10 numbers that I never stop buying for that year. This year, I included the number 37 in the lot, because I had not used it before," he said, explaining how he arrived at the winning combination of 4, 6, 20, 26, 35 and 37.
"I bought the ticket on the day of the draw but did not check it till the Friday afterwards. Even after I looked at the numbers, I had to call my girlfriend and ask her to call them out while I checked again," he added.
WE ARE MILLIONAIRES
His immediate reaction was, "We are millionaires!"
Mr. Thompson said he has been receiving a number of calls from people he does not know and that many of the female callers are even sending him flowers. He was, however, quick to point out that there would be no drastic changes to his lifestyle, adding that he will continue to operate his bar and work as a carpenter.
And just how does the father of two adult children plan to spend his money? Mr. Thompson said that he has complete confidence in his children's ability to help him invest it wisely.
