Jeanette, a Forest County native, was handed the cheque at Haller's Sporting Goods store. Haller’s owner, Menahem Thalkar, was awarded a cash bonus of $10,000 as a reward for selling the winning top prize ticket.
The top prize of $2 scratch card game is paid out in annual chunks of $52,000, minus 25% federal deductions.
Since the game was launched eleven years ago, there have now been eighty-one winners. The day after Jeanette Annibella filed her claim at Lottery headquarters, James M. Pettner of Freedom, Beaver County, became the 81st winner of $1,000 a week for life.
Win $1,000 A Week for Life is actually three games in one, plus a Fast Cash BONUS box.
WIN FOR LIFE is a $2 instant game with nine chances to win on each ticket and a top prize of $1,000 a week for life ($1 million is guaranteed), which goes a long way to explaining the popularity of the game for over a decade.
The Pennsylvania Lottery remains the only state Lottery that designates all its proceeds to programs that benefit older citizens. Since its inception more than 31 years ago, the Lottery has contributed more than $16.5 billion to programs that include property tax and rent rebates; free and reduced-fare transit; the co-pay prescription drug programs PACE and PACENET; and the 52 Area Agencies on Aging, including 650 full- and part-time senior centers throughout Pennsylvania.
In fiscal year 2005-2006, the Lottery achieved sales of more than $3.07 billion.
By law, the Pennsylvania Lottery must contribute 30 cents of each dollar earned to programs and 40 cents to players in the form of prize money. The Lottery surpassed these requirements again in fiscal year 2005-2006, contributing about 31 cents of each dollar to programs for older residents, while about 58 cents was returned to players in the form of prize money.
