Joseph’s wife, Debbie, has revealed that it was her idea for Christina to go to the store. “I said, ‘buy a lottery ticket for him’, because I didn’t get him anything, and I felt bad,” Debbie Morrah told the Pittsburgh Tribune. Christina slipped the ticket into her Father’s Day card and Joseph recalled the excited response as they found out they had won. He said “She starts screaming her head off, ‘You’re a millionaire.’”
Five tickets in the state have now paid out the top prize, although the Morrahs had to wait for their ticket to be verified after driving to the Pittsburgh lottery office on Monday, as local officials are not authorised to confirm wins of such magnitude. The Pennsylvania Lottery later confirmed the ticket as a winner at their headquarters in Harrisburg on Wednesday.
Joseph Morrah, 61, now plans to bring forward his retirement plans, having already intended to stop working in the next few months. He has been a truck driver for 31 years and can now look forward to a more comfortable life, with a new car top of his shopping list. Joseph added: “It still hasn’t settled in. When I see the cheque in my hand, then I’ll believe it.”
The success of the Morrahs has also made it a week to remember for employees at the Jeanette Rite Aid, where it is thought that nobody had previously received a payout of more than $1,000. Shift superviser Emma Young said: “Somebody told me, ‘We have a winner. We sold a winner.” The Morrahs have yet to visit the store, but Jeanette Rite Aid workers will no doubt be hoping that their story inspires others to snap up tickets, as there can be no doubt that this purchase turned out to be the perfect present.
