Another Trenton resident became a multi-millionaire playing the New Jersey Lottery.
Just three months after the Trenton-based Smith Family won the record-breaking Powerball jackpot of $429.6 million from the May 7, 2016 Powerball drawing, Dawn Jones, also from Trenton in Mercer County, won the CASH4LIFE top-prize from the Aug. 8 drawing.
By matching all five white balls and the Cash Ball drawn with the numbers on her ticket, Jones won the $1,000 A Day for Life prize. Opting for a cash payout, which is $7,000,000 gross, she joins the growing ranks of New Jersey Lottery-made millionaires.
Jones purchased her ticket, close to where she works one of her jobs, at Krauszer’s Food Store, 978 St. Georges Ave., Rahway in Union County.
They are one of three retailers that she frequented but has certainly become her lucky location. The store owners also benefit as they will receive a $30,000 bonus commission for selling the winning ticket and the notoriety that goes along with the excitement.
Jones is a registered nurse providing long-term acute care services in a Rahway medical facility. She also provides nursing services at a facility in Hammonton.
Jones shared that beginning in 2012, each Monday, she would buy two game boards each for Powerball, Mega Millions, Pick-6 and Jersey Cash 5. Last year, she added CASH4LIFE into the mix.
She plays the same numbers for each game. All of the numbers have personal significance in her life.
After returning home from work on Monday evening, Aug. 8, she checked the draw results on her phone’s Lottery APP. When she saw the CASH4LIFE numbers she immediately recognized them. She grabbed her ticket and compared her numbers to the ones on the results screen. In disbelief, she called her daughter to her side to read the numbers from the phone screen as she followed along on the ticket. “Then came the silent scream,” Jones said.
Jones called a co-worker, also a nurse, and he too read the numbers to her. With the fact confirmed, she said nervously to her friend, “my heart feels like it's coming out of my chest, I may be having a heart attack.” With a chuckle he reassured her that she would be fine and to “just breathe.”
Dawn Jones knew that she was a multi-millionaire. One might think that the next day she would stay home from work, gather her thoughts and begin plans for her future. Instead, she said, “I considered calling out rich – but I know that a lot of people depend on me, so I went to work.” She took a brief amount of time in the morning to validate the ticket at the retailer and then went on to her nursing job. Jones plans on continuing to work, at least for now, because she loves nursing. “I give up my holidays and a lot of stuff.”
With some of the winnings, Jones hopes to support her daughters through their college education, should they choose to attend.
This win will also pay off her student loans. Lastly, the money will simply allow their lives to become a bit easier. Jones has time to consider her future and said, “I'm going to write my bucket list.”