Katrina evacuee hits jackpot: $1.6 million

‘Better than being blessed. Thank you Lord,’ she says on winning in slots

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updated 11:50 a.m. ET Oct. 6, 2005

OPELOUSAS, La. - After more than a month of living with dozens of displaced relatives in Opelousas, New Orleans evacuee Jacquelyn Sherman told her niece she was depressed.

That all changed when she won $1.6 million — before taxes — playing a slot machine at Evangeline Downs Racetrack and Casino.

“When it happened, I didn’t know what was going on,” Sherman said. “I had just put in my $20 in the ‘Wheel of Fortune’ machine when it hit. My feeling about this win is better than being blessed. Thank you, Lord.”

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Sherman had evacuated to her sister’s home in Opelousas as Hurricane Katrina threatened New Orleans. Depressed after a month with no end in sight and no prospects, she began to pray Tuesday with her niece.

“I told my aunt that God works in mysterious ways and that I had prayed that something good would happen for the whole family to be happy,” Jamie Sherman said.

Later that night, Jacquelyn Sherman and her sister decided to entertain themselves with a trip to Evangeline Downs. Before she knew it, Sherman went from having practically nothing to being a millionaire.

“I have to get an attorney and make some decisions about my future,” she said Wednesday at a news conference at the racetrack. “It hasn’t all sunk in right now. I’m tired. We were up very late last night and back here very early. I plan to go home right now and rest, take a nap. I have so many thoughts going through my mind about what to do and how to do it.”