Danbury Couple Celebrates Forty Years of Marriage with $25,000 Lottery PrizeDon't know what to give your spouse to help celebrate 40 years of marriage? Joseph Bonacci of Danbury gave his wife, Patricia, an anniversary card with a couple CT Lottery instant tickets tucked inside, and she won $50. A few days later, the Bonacci’s visited Stew Leonard’s in Danbury so Patricia could cash in her winnings. She bought a “Red Hot 5s Doubler” ticket, scratched it—and won $25,000. “We just kept looking at the ticket, wanting to make certain it was real,” Joseph said.
Home babysitting, Patricia sent Joseph to CT Lottery headquarters in Rocky Hill to accept a prize check for $17,076 (value after taxes) on her behalf. “You always think that if you won $25,000 you’d be jumping up and down and going crazy, but Patricia…she was very calm about it. I think she was stunned!” Joseph told Lottery officials.
Sales began for the CT Lottery Red Hot 5s Doubler on May 23, introducing players to a unique new game feature—a two-sided ticket. There are 10 chances to win on the front of the ticket, and 5 more chances to win on the back. The top prize is $50,000.
For selling Bonacci her $25,000 prize winning Red Hot 5s Doubler ticket, Stew Leonard’s will receive a $250 bonus from the CT Lottery.