Jacquline Babin was having an ordinary day until the Publisher’s Clearing House van pulled up and awarded her a check for $75,000.
“I was shocked but excited. I did not think I was going to win because there is a one to 35 million chance of winning,” Babin said.
Babin is a nursing junior at Nicholls, while her husband Scott Babin is a teacher at J.S. Aucoin Elementary School in Amelia. Jacquline and Scott have a three year old daughter named Kimberly and three pet dogs.
She is currently pursuing a career in pediatrics. Babin said she would really like to work with children that have cancer.
She was selected through a drawing process and never once bought any of the Publisher’s Clearing House magazines. Babin said she simply kept filling the entrees out and sending them in.
“Every time I mailed in an entry I would think good thoughts about winning and prayed,” Babin said.
According to Publisher’s Clearing House there are two ways that a winner may be selected. The first way is the matching winner numbers. The big prizes are awarded to qualifying entrants who hold numbers that match the winning numbers generated through the computer. If the winner does not respond before the deadline an alternative winner is selected through a random drawing.
“If I won the Publisher’s Clearing House prize I would get a new car and put the rest aside for my son’s college fund,” Lisa Thomas, mass communications junior from New Orleans, said.
Anyone can enter the Publisher’s Clearing House Sweepstakes through the mailings during any time of the year. The biggest times the Publisher’s Clearing House will send out the mailings will be late December, March, July and September. Computer users may also log onto www.pch.com for an additional Internet entry opportunities.
Publisher’s Clearing House guarantees that prizes will be awarded. Since 1967 Publisher’s Clearing House has awarded over $4,187 million in major prizes alone. The major prizes include all prizes that are $1,000 and up. There is even a super prize of $10 million dollars. These prizes are won all across the US throughout the year.
“If I won $75,000 dollars I would first tithe. Then the government would get its take of course. Next I would buy myself a nice new Camero, give the money to family members who need to pay medical bills and put the rest of the money away in the bank,” Michael Cobb, business administration junior from Houma, said.
Babin said there has been no change in the way people treat her since she has won the prize money. The money has gone to paying off bills, buying a new car, a house and putting money into a CD. However Jacquline said she has been so busy with school she has not had enough time to enjoy her new found fortune.
Her final advice to anyone who may now consider entering the Publisher’s Clearing House sweepstakes is to keep sending in entrees, do not get suckered into buying things, and if you do win the money you will have to pay a lot of taxes.