With over $11 million in the bank Joe and Rhonda Meath can probably have pretty most anything they want, but they have declared their intention to maintain their normal lifestyle and plan on giving a lot of the money to charity.
The Meaths, who come from Bethel Minnesota, won the $11.7 million US Hot Lotto jackpot on September 6, 2014. They celebrated their good fortune, by giving a $15,000 tip to the 18-year-old store clerk who sold them their ticket so she could use it towards her college fund.
The down-to-earth winners are also planning on donating a wedge of cash to the St. Paul Police K-9 Foundation—a charity that provides financial support for the St. Paul Police Canine Unit—and, animal lover, Rhonda intends to donate a German shepherd in her father's name.
Although Joe and Rhonda say they will set some money aside for their children and grandchildren, the couple are determined the money will not change them and Rhonda has every intention of continuing to wait tables at the Lake Elmo Inn.
"I don’t think it's [the money] going to change our life much. We just hope it doesn't change the people around us," Joe said. "We’re easy-going—laid-back. We like our family, we love dogs; we are just going to do what we do."
US Hot Lotto is a multi-state game. Drawings are held on Wednesdays and Saturdays, just after the US Powerball drawings (22.59 EST). The next drawing is on Wednesday, September 17, 2014. The estimated jackpot is $1.1 million.
