(The following report appeared on the Rocky Mountain News website on July 21.)
DENVER — Retired Lakewood engineer Hank Robinson has played the same Lotto numbers since the game began in 1989, and they finally paid off Friday as a $9.2 million jackpot.
Robinson’s ticket with numbers based on the birthdays of family members, as well as ages of two nieces and nephews, was the sole ticket to match the six numbers drawn Sunday. They were 14, 17, 21, 31, 36, and 38.
Robinson on Friday collected his check for the largest jackpot in five years. He said he didn’t expect it to change his life much. He planned to go home and play Scrabble with his sister.
While thrilled to receive the money, Robinson said he doesn’t need much now that he’s 81 years old.
“I’ve seen everything I want so far,” the lifelong bachelor said. Besides sharing the money with his three sisters and their families – including several nieces and nephews – Robinson said there is one indulgence he can think of right away: a new minivan. He drives a 1993 GMC van.
“It’s still sinking in,” he said. “The kids are pretty happy about it because they know they’re going to get some of it.”
Robinson learned of his good fortune when he checked the Sunday paper.
“I sat there for about 15 minutes, then I put the rest of my clothes on and jumped in the van and went down to King Soopers,” where he bought the ticket.
Robinson worked as a locomotive engineer for Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad for 36 years, and also ran a holiday gift shop in Lakewood for 25 years. He retired from the business in 1996.
(The Associated Press contributed to this story.)