BY KATHY BARATTA
Staff Writer
Mary Cerretani of Howell wasn’t dreaming when she won a $2 million jackpot while playing a progressive slot machine at an Atlantic City casino Aug. 9.
HOWELL — Not that she goes all the time, but township resident and Board of Education member Mary Cerretani said she was no stranger to the casinos of Atlantic City, going there on occasion with family and friends.
So on Sunday night when she said to a friend at about 8 p.m., "Let’s go to Atlantic City," she was hoping she would have some fun, maybe win some money or at least break even.
She did not expect to come home $2 million richer, but that’s just what happened after she played a one-armed bandit that for once gave out more than it took in.
"I’m just thrilled," Cerretani told a reporter who asked what it feels like to win a couple million dollars.
It was about 2:30 a.m. Aug. 9 at Harrah’s Casino when Lady Luck turned a million-dollar smile Cerretani’s way. She said that when the bells, lights and whistles started going crazy, she was startled and certain that a mistake had been made.
"At first I didn’t believe it, couldn’t believe it, that this was actually happening. I thought there had to be a mistake," she said.
But there was no a mistake and Cerre-tani was in fact the recipient of a progressive Wheel of Fortune machine jackpot that totaled $2,005,946.
Cerretani, 45, a social worker with the Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District, said that with two young children to put through college, she and her husband Steve will not be quitting their jobs anytime soon.
One decision she will have to make, however, is whether to accept her winnings in a lump sum payment minus taxes or as a 20-year annuity.