Man buys watermelon and flowers for wife after scooping £4million on lottery

16 September 2023 , 09:52

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Waldemar "Bud" Tasch won $5million on the lottery (Image: Colorado Lottery)

A lucky man who won a staggering $5million (£4million) on the lottery decided to celebrate the huge prize by buying himself watermelon and a bunch of flowers for his wife.

Waldemar "Bud" Tasch, from Montrose in Colorado, was on a backpacking trip in the Holy Cross Wilderness with his golden retriever, Augie, when his numbers came up in the September 6 draw. When he returned from his trip, the 77-year-old checked his ticket and found that he won a $5,067,041 (£4,090,942) jackpot.

According to a Colorado Lottery press release, his first thought was: "It must be a mistake!" But the pensioner, who purchased his winning ticket at Hangin Tree Travel Plaza in Montrose, then realised he had actually been the jackpot's lucky winner.

The lucky winner bought himself a watermelon and a bunch of flowers for his wife (Colorado Lottery)

He was presented with two options, he could either take the monthly checks or take home the cash option - and chose the cash option of $2,533,520 (£2,045,470). His wife Bonnie Tasch said the first purchase he made was some flowers and a watermelon for himself. "I was very pleasantly surprised," she told CBS News Colorado. "He doesn't normally buy me flowers so that was very sweet."

The lottery news release described Mr Tasch as an "avid outdoorsman" who lives six months in Colorado and six months in Arizona every year. He said he plays the lottery every month in COlorado, always using the same numbers.

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Describing how Bud plans to use his winnings, Colorado Lottery said: "Bud says he and his wife live a simple life, but she does have some upcoming surgeries, so he is happy to be able to now be able to provide some much-needed help around the house and yard while she is recovering." In addition to the small purchases he made immediately after winning, Mr Tasch also said he may expand his beloved collection of classic cars. He said: "I like classic cars and I have a few already, so maybe I'll get another."

The Colorado Lottery winning ticket (Colorado Lottery)

The lucky winner said he might invest some of the money, but added that he also wants to donate part of his winnings to help others. He explained: "I'm going to give to some charities and really think about what it is I was meant to do with this."

Last month, we reported the story of a lottery winner who scooped $136million (£110million) but hid his winning ticket in the basement and forgot about it. For Anthony Perosi, 56, a routine truck breakdown led to the discovery that he had won a huge Powerball jackpot, after he had forgotten about the winning ticket stashed behind a pipe in his Staten Island basement in New York for over a month.

Anthony, a plumber, bought the $2 Powerball ticket at a 7-Eleven, playing the same five random numbers he has used for years. A few days after the drawing, Anthony heard that the same 7-Eleven had sold a winner. But when a friend dismissed the idea that he could be the winner, he didn't bother to check his ticket.

Anthony Perosi, holding the winning ticket, smiles with his son (Mary Altaffer/AP)

"So I didn't check my tickets," he said, "And that was that." Anthony tucked the ticket into a pouch behind a basement pipe, occasionally taking tickets to local shops to check for small winnings but forgetting about the possibility of a jackpot. That changed when Anthony's work truck broke down, and he needed money for repairs. Remembering the 7-Eleven winner, he finally checked his ticket online.

"I tried to breathe in and nothing would go in," he recalled. "I thought I was having a heart attack and my heart stopped. So I grabbed the ticket, figuring they would find it in my hand." After exhaling and circling his dining room repeatedly, muttering to himself and his dogs, Anthony realised he had won $136million. He will split the jackpot 70-30 with his son, Anthony III, a food company salesman. After taxes, the nets winnings were $38.6 million, while his son received $16.5 million.

Chiara Fiorillo