A $100,000 surprise: Dunnellon woman gets visit, and really big check, from Publishers Clearing House
DUNNELLON — When Dunnellon resident Tangie Pate’s husband, Mike Davis, told her there was someone outside for her on Tuesday afternoon, she assumed the worst.
“At first I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, is it my son?’ Because he's 18 and he just started driving,” Pate said. “I was like, ‘Oh God, please don't be like the cops or something.' "
Pate, 43, was pleasantly surprised to be greeted instead by a suited man, Dave Sayer, holding balloons, roses and champagne – and a giant check for $100,000.
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“Oh my God,” she said, squealing with excitement. “This is amazing. I literally just got laid off from my job like two weeks ago.”
'Someone has to win. Why not me?'
Sayer, who founded the Publishers Clearing House Prize Patrol, travels the country giving out prizes to unsuspecting residents who have entered sweepstakes or played games online.
“You haven't been entering our sweepstakes that long, according to our records, so it’s sort of beginner's luck,” he told Pate.
Pate said she has been diligent about playing online games to enter the sweepstakes every day since June, and Davis added that she has done so “religiously.”
While many people don’t believe that Publishers Clearing House truly awards the prizes as has been publicized on TV, the visit confirmed the legitimacy of the sweepstakes for Pate.
“I was kind of sort of one of those people, but I've always had hope, and I believe that whatever's meant for me will come to me,” she said. “Someone has to win. Why not me? And my great uncle always said you can't win if you don't try, if you don't play.”
Money for bills, home renovations and vacation
She had played one of the online games until it closed and the screen read that the winner was in Florida.
“Oh, please, let it be me,” she remembered thinking. “I just know they're going to drive down my driveway.”
Pate and Davis were both born and raised in Ocala. They got married last year and now live on 30 acres in Dunnellon in Citrus County. They both work in the mortgage business, and Pate has been processing mortgages on the side in the meantime since losing her job.
First, she said, they will use the money to pay some bills.
“And my brother and my sister(-in-law) are renewing their vows in Jamaica, and we had to cancel because I just lost my job and we didn't want to spend the money, but guess what? Now, we’re going to Jamaica,” she said.
Lastly, Pate and Davis said they would likely do some renovations on their house that they have been dreaming about.
About Publishers Clearing House
Winners are chosen at random, and it’s free to enter the sweepstakes, though Pate says she does buy a lot from Publishers Clearing House ads.
Publishers Clearing House was founded in 1953 as a multi-magazine subscription agency and now offers various products and services, according to a press packet.
The Prize Patrol, which notifies sweepstakes winners in person, was founded in 1989.
The company’s online game network has over 10 million unique monthly visitors, and Publishers Clearing House has awarded over half a billion dollars in prizes.
The prizes are funded by company revenues, and no purchase is necessary to win.
Individuals can enter at pch.com, through promotional mailings, apps, emails or mail.
Contact reporter Danielle Johnson at djohnson@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Publishers Clearing House surprises Florida woman with $100,000
