VIDEO: Change Of Dinner Plans Lands SoCal Couple $266 Million In Lottery
May 6 2010, Published 9:27 a.m. ET
Gilbert and Jacki Cisneros of Southern California are $266 million richer after winning Tuesday night's multi-state Mega Millions draw, because of an off-hand twist of fate revolving around ... chicken.
Appearing on Thursday's Today Show, Jacki, an employee of KNBC -TV in Los Angeles, said she wanted KFC, but her hubby Gilbert had a craving for Mexican food.
Not wanting to deal with the hassle of trying to park in downtown L.A., Gilbert instead decided upon a nearby Hawaiian BBQ joint in their hometown of Pico Rivera.
"All I could think about was that double-decker chicken sandwich, and I was like, 'I don't want that,’" Gilbert told Today . "I remembered having chicken at a Hawaiian BBQ before and thought, 'You know, that sounds pretty good.’"
The BBQ joint happened to sell lottery tickets, so Gilbert picked up ten tickets, and the rest is history.
Later, Jacki was working the overnight shift on KNBC-TV's assignment desk at the time when she saw a news advisory announcing that a single winning lottery ticket was purchased In Pico Rivera . That led to the biggest story of the night — and her life !
Surprisingly, Jacki said she will remain on the job. “I can’t imagine not working," she said. "It’s a foreign concept to me.”