German tourist wins the lottery

The retired engineer went to the store for potatoes. He came home with much more.

By MIKE BRASSFIELD

© St. Petersburg Times, published January 4, 2001

ST. PETE BEACH -- A German tourist recently bought five Florida Lottery tickets at a local Publix. He went back two days later for potatoes. But he forgot his glasses and couldn't read the winning numbers posted on a wall, so he asked a clerk to check his tickets.

"Oh, my God," he recalls the clerk saying. "I'm going to get the manager."

Soon afterward, Bruno Lindner returned to the St. Pete Beach hotel room where his wife of 30 years was waiting. He had no potatoes, not even a shopping bag. Ingeborg Lindner knew something was up.

"Just imagine what happened," he said to her.

She guessed he'd been in an accident.

On Wednesday, the Lindners claimed their $23-million jackpot in Tallahassee.

They had been vacationing in St. Pete Beach for two days when Bruno Lindner bought lottery tickets for the Dec. 9 drawing at the Publix in Dolphin Village Shopping Center at 4655 Gulf Blvd.

The retired engineer randomly picked high numbers because he knew the low numbers get played more often, he told lottery officials. One winning ticket matched the numbers he chose: 35-38-40-45-47-50.

It's common for lottery winners to wait before claiming their riches so they can make financial arrangements. Many create a trust for tax purposes.

The Lindners waited 3 1/2 weeks. Their prize would have been $23-million if they had taken 30 annual payments of $801,000. Instead, they chose to take a lump sum of $12-million.

The Lindners, who live in Munich, Germany, and also in Estepona, Spain, told lottery officials that they'll buy a new car, a larger apartment and a cruise.

"We have never won anything in our lives. We have worked hard for our money," said Ingeborg Lindner, a retired nurse. "I was nervous for weeks and couldn't sleep, wondering, 'Why did this happen now?' "

It was unclear where the couple had been staying in St. Pete Beach, or where they went after leaving Florida Lottery headquarters Wednesday.

Most Florida Lotto jackpots are won by Floridians, but foreign tourists occasionally win.

In March 1999, a couple from Chile claimed a $5.38-million jackpot five months after buying a winning ticket at a Publix in Fort Lauderdale. It took them that long to make sure they had met legal requirements in Chile as well as the United States.

In October 1994, another South American tourist won $19-million in the lottery while visiting Miami.

- Times researcher Kitty Bennett contributed to this report.

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