CANAAN â The story goes that when James Lovell picked up his wife from work last week he asked her if she wanted to kiss a millionaire.
Lovellâs wife, a school social worker obliged when he found out heâd won $2 million in Powerball. Then she told him they couldnât kiss any more in the schoolyard.
The 59-year-old truck driver from Clinton, who is unemployed, believes that his exposure from winning $2 million could be his ticket to a new job, according to the Maine State Lottery, which also made the kissing story public. His wife said in a press release last week that she intends to continue working.
Lovell has already ordered a new truck with a plow and started trusts for his granddaughters, according to Lottery officials. He hasnât talked to the press since the Feb. 24 drawing.
Tom Ward, owner of the Canaan Superette, said he got a call on Feb. 25 from a lottery official who asked if heâd heard the big news.
âWe had sold a $30,000 scratch ticket about a week before,â Ward said, so he assumed thatâs what the call was about.
Instead, he learned that he had sold the $2 million Powerball ticket.
Lovell, a regular at the Canaan Superette, stopped by the next day to check his tickets against the winning numbers from the previous weekendâs drawing, Ward said.
The first five numbers matched: 2-5-31-39-41. That meant $1 million.
And Lovell had paid the extra dollar for the Power Play option, doubling his winnings.
The clerk, Traci Knowlton, double-checked the numbers and delivered the news.
âHe was in shock,â said Ward.
The truck Lovell ordered is a blue-jean blue V8 diesel, according to the lottery. His two granddaughters who now have trusts are 3 years old and six months old.
He has three children.
Ward expects to get a banner from the Maine State Lottery this week to put up at his store. The lottery pays bonuses to retailers that sell winning Powerball tickets.
âIt was awesome. It was exciting,â Ward said of selling the $2 million ticket.
Before the $30,000 scratch ticket last month â Ward still doesnât know who bought that one â the most a customer of the Canaan Superette had won was $5,000.
Copy the Story LinkSend questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Hereâs why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.