Four Central Florida people joined the ranks of the nouveau riche this week when each cashed a winning lottery ticket, including two who became overnight millionaires.
But the biggest winner in the group, an Orlando nursing assistant who claimed a $5 million Mega Millions prize in Tallahassee, confided that she felt poorer spiritually.
"I'm a Christian. I don't gamble," said Fay Blake, 62. "Spiritually, it bothers me."
The Florida Lottery paid Blake $3,750,000 — her winnings minus taxes — and sent out a news release Thursday about her good fortune, though she pleaded with the agency to neither photograph her nor identify her. The photo is optional, but identification is not, Florida Lottery spokeswoman Shelly Gerteisen said.
Lottery winners cannot remain anonymous because some people, notably lottery employees themselves, are not allowed to play.
Blake said she had hoped to avoid publicity about her winnings for fear of shaming her church.
"I love my church, and I love my church family," she said.
Blake said her pastor has preached against gambling, and she usually takes his sermons to heart. But "impulse" led her to the lottery terminal at Publix on Edgewater Drive, she said. There was no line when she approached the kiosk with $1 and chose Quick Pick, an option in which a computer selects the numbers to play.
Her ticket matched five of the white-ball numbers in the televised Jan. 9 drawing, which would have earned a jackpot of $221 million if Blake's entry also would have matched the so-called yellow "Mega Ball." She won a $5 million consolation prize instead of $1 million because she plopped down an extra dollar for the "Megaplier."
Blake said she was uncertain how she would explain her moment of weakness to her pastor.
She was so conflicted Thursday that she initially told a reporter she had redeemed the winning ticket for somebody else who offered her a share of the prize. But she later acknowledged buying the ticket after learning that such an arrangement would be unlawful. A lottery investigator, she said, also called her to make sure the ticket was hers.
"I should be happy, but it's causing me grief," she said. "My heart is going so crazy."
Blake, who is married with children, also said she did not have immediate plans for her windfall and hoped to keep working as a nursing assistant, calling it "my joy."
"I live a quiet life, and I try to do things for people," she said.
Lottery officials identified other area winners as Thomas Halstead, 72, of Daytona Beach and J . Pascual Villazano, 48, of DeLand.
Halstead won $1 million in the lottery's "100X The Cash Scratch-Off," which costs $25 a ticket. He opted for a one-time, lump-sum payment of $781,174.44.
Villazano claimed the $500,000 top prize in the "Money Multiplier Scratch-Off," which costs $5 a ticket. He bought his winner at the Discount Market on West Euclid Avenue in DeLand.
Lottery officials said an Ocoee man also claimed a $3 million prize in a scratch-off game Thursday, but they could not announce his identity or other details because they had not yet completed his paperwork.
She can donate this money to Habitat For Humanity. A worthy cause if I ever saw one
"Blake said she was uncertain how she would explain her moment of weakness to her pastor."
Oh, I'm sure that he will understand.
You will be quickly forgiven! 
Sidenote: She has a problem with gambling, but not lying??
Fear not little ole church lady, you wouldn't have beat those incredible odds if there wasn't some kind of devine intervention anyway. And your pastor will get over it just as soon as you tithe. If you feel that guilty about it, I am sure the money is in good hands to do great things. Life is good! Life with money is better!
Fear of shaming her church ?
is it a museum for saints ?
or a hospital for sinners ?
She Wins millions of dollars , and yet she all like.......
Some people can't help it, they just need to create problems for themselves.
Don't worry little old church lady. Your Pastor will tell you exactly how much you should give to him and his church to make your sin all better. Hint, it won't be a one time payment.
The thing that bugs me is that it's not "anti-Christianity" to gamble. This lady is all distraught over nothing.
If a pastor wants to rail against gambling in his sermon, then that's the pastor's opinion, not the Word of God. Nowhere in the Bible does it say anything about gambling being morally wrong. In fact, quite the opposite: the Bible makes mention of lotteries, as a simple statement of fact.
There is an obvious solution to this woman's problem. If she hates that she won so bad she can give all her money away. Problem solved.
lady get a bottle of jack and that will pop ur brains out to think out side the box . grief yeh ok .
"Life" is a gamble. Say you are forced to take a new job in another state. You have to disconnect from family and friends. You have unmeasurable costs moving and relocating everything. There is no guarantee how secure this move will be. Will you be judged for "gambling" on this new financial opportunity? I think not...
Oh my how people torture themselves. we all fall short of the glory. no rookie to playing, however, as she new about the old megaplier for an extra buck!
Exactly! I read this after you posted it and have been looking to see what the Bible says against gambling and I couldn't find anything except about lotteries. (casting "lots") There are the verses cautioning against loving money and trying to get rich quick, but...
We gamble every day of our lives- people are gambling with their investments, particularly in the stock market; many gamble that they can beat that yellow light at the intersection and people in high risk jobs gamble with their lives. I suppose someone could argue semantics on those things, but any risk one takes is a gamble. Sometimes you can lose more than money.
I'm not an expert on religious matters, but I think if there's a sin to gambling (or drinking or most other "vices") it's when someone does it to the detriment of their family, i.e. takes food out of their mouths or causes harm to others by what they're doing.
Problem solved: donate all winnings to her church.
Blake has absolutely nothing to worry about- if her Pastor objects, he better open up the Bible and find the passage where Rahab a * Prostitute who acted on her bravery ended up with her being married to an Israelite and her becoming an Ancestor of none other than Jesus Christ himself.
She was unsure how to tell her pastor she'd had a momentary weakness & gave into it? I'm not all that religious, but if she feels she can't tell her pastor for fear of his condemnation & scorn, then she's going to the wrong church. And, she needs to adjust her thinking on this: she's been handed something that can help her church, the congregation, the community she lives in & those in need. Despite how it came about, this is a gift; use it to help others if it'll make her feel better...
Yea, she seems to just be against it because the pastor preaches that it's wrong and she simply believes that it is and assumes everyone else in the church feels the same. It's also possible she herself doesn't feel bad, but is saying so because she thinks those in the congregation are going to judge her.
This story actually reminds me of my grandmother. She's against gambling but the other week she made a comment about entering the PCH sweepstakes in a "moment of weakness".
Calm down, people, you're not going to hell if you play the lottery. And in fact, churches will kindly take in your winning tickets if you put them in the offering tray. I know if my grandmother had the urge one day to play the lottery and won a decent amount, she would have no problem telling her pastor. She would almost certainly see it as a blessing, a way to help out the church monetarily in order to help keep it afloat.
Why weep it's a blessing lady.. you could donate some to me! I don't believe in gambling too but I love state lotteries it's funding it's own state in a good way.
I guess you should be explaining why a person who claims to be so religious and upright told a lie about buying the ticket......... I hope your preacher teaches you about honesty ......
"She pleaded with the agency to neither photograph her nor identify her"
Nice try, but we would all be using the church as an excuse if it would provide anonymity from identification.
It depends on the church, Salvation Army wouldn't take money from a lottery jackpot, but many others would.
These are the only Bible verses re: 'gambling':
And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get.
Mark 15:24 NIV
Let's not tear it," they said to one another. "Let's decide by lot who will get it." This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled which said, "They divided my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing." So this is what the soldiers did.
John 19:24 NIV
Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.
Acts 1:26 NIV*
* To the Jews the lot did not suggest gambling, but "the O.T. method of learning the will of Jehovah"
The Pentecostal Church of God totally opposes the sin of gambling in any form, including social gambling like bingo & raffles ..
Jack Whitaker found out real fast when he won and tried to donate to the churches in his area they shunned him i actually think that's what sent him on his roller coaster ride.
I could think of a thousand things to be distraught about. Winning $5,000,000 isn't one of them.
Ms. Blake doesn't owe her pastor an explanation. I'm sure if the situation was reversed, her pastor wouldn't explain anything to her or the other members of the church. Better yet, she should watch the news! Some of these pastors are NOT practicing what they preach anyway.
She needs to thank God for the lottery win, pray over the money, and pray about being a good steward over the money that God has blessed her with.
I'm glad you said that Todd because I am a Christian and I've never seen so many so called christians hell bent on an issue that is not a heaven or hell issue! They need to be as passionate about what the Bible really says...its crazy! !! Blake don't feel bad for winning..
Thanks for the LOL, four4me! Within months, Jack Whittaker found FOUR nearby West Virginia churches, or parishes, who EACH accepted millions from his Christmas day Powerball jackpot win.
Note. All churches have received monies from gambling wins; most members or visitors simply don't state where it came from. Cheers everyone, enjoy!
Kudos, LottoMetro, for your astute "sidenote." Ah, well, at least she's soon to be a rich liar and practiced, advanced strategy gambler.
Plus, she could work full time, retire in four years, and reap even more monies from a higher Social Security monthly payout! Then she's keep winning the game of life and retirement!