Bitcoin News
By James Thorp
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One Number Short of $368 Million. Her ticket matched the first five numbers. The sixth — the Mega Ball — didn't land.
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Home Renovations and Grandkids' Tuition. Bickle's plans for the money are pretty straightforward.
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What This Win Actually Means. Sixty-nine years old, IT sector, Waterloo, Iowa. That's the profile.
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Debra Bickle didn't wait. The 69-year-old IT worker from Waterloo, Iowa, matched five numbers in the June 5 Mega Millions draw and walked away with $2 million — one number short…
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She'd been planning to retire at year's end. That plan lasted about as long as it took to check her ticket.
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Her ticket matched the first five numbers. The sixth — the Mega Ball — didn't land. That miss cost her somewhere north of $366 million, which sounds brutal until you remember she…
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And for Bickle, it clearly was. She didn't hedge. She didn't say she'd think about retiring. She just did it.
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No word on whether she took the lump sum or annuity. The source didn't specify. Unclear, too, what the net figure looks like after Iowa state taxes and federal withholding, which…
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Bickle's plans for the money are pretty straightforward. First, home renovations — a project she'd probably been putting off while working full-time.
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It's a pattern that shows up a lot with lottery winners in this range — the $1 million to $5 million bracket.
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See also: Debra Bickle Retires at 69 After Matching 5 Mega Millions Numbers for $2 Million Prize
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The home renovation angle makes financial sense too. Property improvements can lift resale value, and for someone entering retirement, a comfortable, updated home matters more…
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Sixty-nine years old, IT sector, Waterloo, Iowa. That's the profile. She wasn't a young winner with thirty years to compound the money.
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That's maybe the most human part of the story. She wasn't dreaming of a private island. She wanted to stop working a little sooner, fix up her house, and help her grandchildren.
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And she moved fast. A lot of people in her position would've finished the year. Maybe worried about health insurance, or felt weird leaving colleagues mid-project. Bickle didn't.
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