Jersey Cash 5 winner, Rosalia Gonglefski, from Bloomfield in Essex County, knew shortly after the Nov. 18, 2015 drawing that she had won the jackpot prize. However, she chose not to make the claim until September of this year.
When Gonglefski, who works as a medical billing receptionist, was asked why she hadn’t claimed the ticket sooner, she explained that her goal was to buy a house in a town with good schools for her daughter that was “closer to the coast where her family lives.” The cash value of the ticket was $634,831. She was concerned that if the ticket was claimed prior to her having a plan in place, the money may have been spent frivolously. “It’s found money,” she explained.
Gonglefski’s lucky retailer is Marina Stationers, 512 Van Houten Ave., Passaic in Passaic County. For selling this ticket, they received a $2,000 bonus commission and the excitement of making someone’s dream come true.