Lottery winners putting families first

by David Hinkson

The two latest winners of the Barbados Lotteries Mega Six jackpot have stated that they will prioritise creating a better quality of life for their loved ones with their financial windfall.

Christopher Campbell and Jamel DePeiza, who both won $465,000, were recently presented with their winning cheques at the Esso Worthing gas station and Mike’s Mini Mart respectively, where they would have purchased their winning tickets.

It was the first time winners had been presented with their prizes on location since the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic in Barbados in March 2020.

Campbell, who has been playing the lottery for the last ten years, said he was “shocked” when he realised he had won the jackpot.

“At first I wasn’t sure if I was seeing the right numbers, so I pulled my daughter out of her online classes to verify the numbers.

“She confirmed them, and we high-fived each other, and then I called my wife just to make doubly sure and she also confirmed them.”

When asked how he planned to use the funds, Campbell said, “We have a mortgage, so I want to put half of the money towards that, then I want to look at making some investments, house repairs, and of course our daughter’s future education.”

Meanwhile, DePeiza said his heart was still racing since he found out he had won the jackpot.

“Last Tuesday I was on my last $20, and I bought a bottled water and a ‘horseshoe’ pastry along with the ticket, but I didn’t check the ticket. I remembered that it had on nines, because I normally play nines. I showed it to a friend of mine who usually checks them for me, and in the morning he came to see me and told me I had won.”

DePeiza said: “I feel wonderful, feel good that I can help my family, since we came up in poverty, I’m glad to see now that I have a chance to help them fix the house and so on, it’s truly a blessing for me and my family. I’m going to make sure my family is right, clear some debts, and continue to build up my business.”