Christmas lottery gift pays off big

PITTSBURGH, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- A Pittsburgh pharmacist has learned the $20 Pennsylvania lottery ticket he gave to relatives for Christmas has paid off big -- $1 million.

Fred DePasquale, owner of the Medicine Shoppe in the Brookline neighborhood, does get some money out of the deal, a $5,000 bonus from the state for selling a winning ticket.

DePasquale told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette he rarely plays the lottery. But he bought some $20 tickets for a special drawing -- 625,000 tickets with five $1 million prizes -- and gave them away as presents.

He would not identify the lucky couple who got the winner but said he is their daughter's godfather, they have another child on the way and they plan to use their newfound wealth to pay off the mortgage.

DePasquale likes the raffle-style lottery drawing because the odds are shorter -- one in 125,000 -- than most other games.

He has no regrets about his gift.

"All it was to me was a $20 ticket in my hand," he said. "That's like giving a shirt for Christmas and asking them if you could wear it New Year's Eve."