Some people get all the luck. Jim Sensenbrenner is a U.S. Congressman, already a multi-millionaire, and heir to a large business fortune. And he just won $1,000 (£500) in his state lottery. After winning another $1,000 last year. Oh, and winning $250,000 in a different lottery in 1997.
‘I got lucky,’ Sensenbrenner said.
The conservative Republican first hit it big in 1997 with a $250,000 jackpot in the District of Columbia lottery. Then, last spring, he won a $1,000 consolation prize in the Wisconsin lottery, before winning another $1,000 in that lottery last week.
In a further impressive feat, while Sensenbrenner may not be short of a buck or two, he was reported in 2006 to be leading the congressional league in claiming the most money for travel expenses from lobbyists and think tanks. He got over $200,000 in free trips between 2000 and 2006, according to Political Money Line, which keeps track into such things.
Sensenbrenner, 64, was born into a family that helped build Kimberly-Clark Corp., maker of Kleenex tissue and Scott paper towels, and he recently reported a net worth of about $11.6 million. He said he spends about $10 a week on lottery tickets.
The latest winnings came in a Super 2nd Chance drawing, in which people who mail in at least $5 in losing tickets vie for 10 $1,000 prizes each week. Lottery officials put the odds of winning just one time at 1 in 5,000.