Remember when your parents used to tell you to be nice to your siblings? Maybe it was because one day you both would grow up and win the lottery, except one of you would win the jackpot and the other would win $7.
As improbable as that sounds, it happened to a Pennsylvania judge who just wrapped up a monthlong fishing vacation in the Florida Keys, the Florida Lottery said.
Earlier this week, the judge, James Stocklas, and his brother, Bob, bought lottery tickets on the way home from the beach. James Stocklas, 67, won the $291 million Powerball and his brother won $7.
After Wednesday’s drawing, the judge had returned to work, and was sitting at the restaurant where he eats breakfast every day. He happened to check the numbers on his phone and realized he’d won. To celebrate, he bought breakfast for everyone in the restaurant, and called his family to say, “We are going back to Florida!”
The Florida lottery noted the double winners by printing Bob Stocklas a full-size winner’s check.
James Stocklas chose the lump sum payment of $191 million, the Florida Lottery said. There’s no word on whether he’ll bring his brother back to Florida with him.