Here in Brooklyn, where people accept psychics and believe in intuition, we find a story about a man my age who won $40 million by listening to his inner voice. I only play when guided and have had small winnings. I never play more than $1.00 as I believe that fate will guide the win if it is your destiny that day. I have given clients winning numbers on occasion when they are given to me by someone the client knew who is deceased. It is interesting that people who gambled when they were alive, still bring gambling tips when they cross over. Gambling has become a major addiction in the US, including the Internet. Reality is a game of wins and loses, duality. As you know, the loses most often far exceed the wins.
Brooklyn's Clifford Maxwell is living proof you should pay attention to the voices in your head, they could make you $40 million richer. The retired father of five was riding a bus past his regular lottery outlet two weeks ago when an "inner voice" urged him to get off and purchase a ticket, even though he already had three entries tucked away in his wallet.
Sure enough, a few nights later the 61-year-old former MTA worker watched in stunned disbelief as his lucky seven numbers rolled across the screen, the exact numbers shown on the last of his Quick Pick tickets.
"I am truly blessed," a beaming Maxwell said yesterday. "I was on the bus and an inner voice told me to get off and buy another one. So I did." Maxwell's impulse buy made him the sole winner of New York Lottery's end-of-year $40 million jackpot, and he broke the news to his astonished children during their Christmas Day breakfast. He recalled being half asleep during the televised draw but sprung to life suddenly when he heard Lotto announcer Yolanda Vega call out the winning numbers.
"I knew I had the winning ticket . . . It was hard to believe," he said. "The first thing I did was pray to God." He then double-checked the numbers and raced into the bedroom to wake his wife, Arlene, who triple-checked the ticket online, before the duo realized their modest retirement fund was about to get a handy little boost. "The kids went crazy, but it was all good," Arlene said at yesterday's presentation ceremony. Three of the Maxwells' five kids still live at home, while another is on active duty with U.S. forces in Germany.
Maxwell, who was reunited yesterday with the Kingston Avenue storeowner who sold him the ticket, chose to receive the $40 million prize as a lump sum, a cool $20.97 million after taxes. He told The Post he planned to use some of the money to continue his support of his local church and other charities in Brooklyn. "This story should be an inspiration to those that never give up," said the lifelong lottery player.