National

Woman buys one more lottery ticket ‘on a whim’ and wins big. Sisters now split prize

Four sisters won a top prize playing the Raffle lottery game in Oregon, lottery officials said.
Four sisters won a top prize playing the Raffle lottery game in Oregon, lottery officials said. Jonathan Borba via Unsplash

Four sisters agreed to split any prize they might win before buying tickets for an Oregon lottery game.

So each sister bought two tickets for the Oregon Lottery’s annual St. Patrick’s Day Raffle, lottery officials said in a March 23 news release.

But one sister, Carol Serbick, decided to buy a extra ticket “on a whim” at a bar in Fairview on March 2.

Serbick ended up winning the game’s top prize of $1 million, lottery officials said.

“I went to the restroom, walked past the bar and said to the bartender, ‘just give me one ticket,’” she told the lottery agency. “Between us sisters, we purchased a total of nine tickets.”

Tickets for the game sold out a week later, and Serbick ended up with the winning ticket.

All four sisters, who are retired, are splitting the $1 million win, and now they plan to go on a “fun vacation,” the lottery agency said.

The odds of winning the Raffle game are 1 in 250,000.

Fairview is about 15 miles east of Portland.

Many people can gamble or play games of chance without harm. However, for some, gambling is an addiction that can ruin lives and families.

If you or a loved one shows signs of gambling addiction, you can seek help by calling the national gambling hotline at 1-800-522-4700 or visiting the National Council on Problem Gambling website.

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Helena Wegner
McClatchy DC
Helena Wegner is a McClatchy National Real-Time Reporter covering the state of Washington and the western region. She’s a journalism graduate from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. She’s based in Phoenix.
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