City man: Lottery ticket was 'glaring at me'
After 31 years of marriage, Jim Schiebel said it might just be time for that honeymoon cruise his wife has always dreamed of.
Until now, time, money and life's demands have prevented the city couple from fulfilling Marcy Schiebel's vacation wish.
But having won $1 million on a scratch off lottery ticket first thing Wednesday morning, Jim Schiebel, 62, said next year, “It'll be a whole different year.”
Schiebel said he was driving to his job at U.S. Liner in Harmony around 6:30 a.m. when he decided to stop at the 7-Eleven convenience store. He likes to go there for a cup of coffee in the morning. He said he does his best to avoid buying lottery tickets because money is tight.
“But there was this ticket glaring at me,” he said. “It had a halo on it.”
Schiebel bought one, a $20 “Merry Millionaire” ticket.
“That ticket said, 'buy me,' so I did,” he said.
Schiebel took the ticket to his car and scratched off the little boxes — which revealed his big win — then he drove to work where he was anticipating an overtime day making skirts for tractor trailers.
“When I got there, I said, 'Hey, I'm not working today.' And everyone there applauded for me,” Schiebel said.
Schiebel drove to the lottery office in Pittsburgh and presented his ticket for verification. They told him after taxes, he will receive between $600,000 and $700,000, and he won't get the money until February.
Lottery officials, when contacted for this report, said they could not confirm that Schiebel is a winner. The officials said they do not make such confirmations to the media until the ticket is all the way through the system, which takes a couple of days.
So Christmas won't be any different for the Schiebel family, which includes three children, nine grandchildren and one great-grandchild with another on the way.
Each of those family members ultimately will benefit some, Schiebel said. And Marcy Schiebel will likely get that cruise as well as a new car. She's never had a new car.
“But I'm not going shopping until after Christmas,” Schiebel said. “Prices are cheaper.”
Marcy Schiebel, 63, finished her whole day of work at ARC of Butler County, where she spent the day wrapping fruit baskets for a fundraiser.
“This is so new to us,” she said of the millionaire status. “We haven't even had a chance to comprehend it yet.”
Schiebel said he'll keep his car. It's good enough. And it's not likely he'll move to a different house or change much about his life.
“A deck out back might be real nice,” he said. “But we're not going to make any major life changes. We're going out to dinner tonight.”
Schiebel said he will probably look for an investment that would let him live a little more comfortably for the rest of his life.
“And I plan to live until 100. I'd be really disappointed if I don't,” he said. “And I'd like to make the best of those years.”
