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Hernando County gives lottery a run for its money

Eight winning tickets have been sold in the county in the past nine months.

By MICHAEL KRUSE
Published October 4, 2006

SPRING HILL - Hernando County just keeps on getting lucky.

George Hresko, 58, of Hudson matched all five winning numbers in the Monday Fantasy 5 drawing, the Florida Lottery announced Tuesday. Hresko played his numbers at Super Star Discount Beverage on County Line Road. He will win $226,461.51 and is the eighth person to buy a winning lottery ticket in Hernando County in the past nine months.

Hresko checked the numbers Tuesday morning online and called out to his wife.

"I said, 'Hon, we hit the Fantasy,' " he said Tuesday evening from his home. "She said, 'Nah, you're kidding.' "

Nope. No joke.

The county's run of lottery loot started in late December. A 58-year-old Spring Hill woman won the $1-million "Cash for the Holidays" New Year's Eve drawing on a ticket she bought at the 7-Eleven at State Road 50 and Wiscon Road.

Then there was another winner in January.

And February.

And March.

And two more in April.

And then another in May.

There's been a man from Brooksville, a woman from New Port Richey and a handful of men from Spring Hill.

They've won Mega Money jackpots and Fantasy 5's and holiday giveaways.

They've won from $200,000 to $3-million.

They've played their numbers and bought their tickets at the Publix at Barclay Crossing, the Publix at Seven Hills and the Publix on Pinehurst Drive, at minimarts in Brooksville and Spring Hill, and at the Winn-Dixie behind the Red Lobster on U.S. 19.

"I know we've had counties with a lot of winners, but I don't know about that many in eight months," lottery spokeswoman Shelisha Durden said Tuesday. Especially in the smaller counties. Miami-Dade, Broward and Orange counties usually have more winners than most counties, she said, just because they have more people than most other counties.

Hresko moved just south of the Hernando line from New York two years ago and works as a mail handler at the U.S. Postal Service processing center at Tampa International Airport. He was off on Monday and passed by the discount beverage place. His winning numbers were 02-28-29-34-35.

"I'm just going to keep on working for a while," he said. "That's not enough to retire on."

[Last modified October 3, 2006, 22:43:39]