Friday the 13th Lucky for Lottery

A retired sewing shop worker who chose her lucky numbers on Friday the 13th claimed the first installment of her $9.6-million lottery prize Friday and said she will buy a new car even though her ’66 Chevy runs “beautifully.”

“I haven’t come down to earth yet,” said Bertha Arruda, 71, of Westport, Mass., as she accepted a $385,132 check, less 20% federal tax, in the Tri-State Megabucks game. The jackpot was the largest in the 10-month-old game run by Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.

Arruda, a widow who retired 10 years ago after working nearly 50 years as a seamstress in Fall River, Mass., textile mills, came to lottery headquarters in a limousine with her two sons and daughter. She plans to share her winnings with them and her five brothers and sisters.

Arruda said she used the same number combination she always does in the Massachusetts Megabucks game. It is based on her birthday, the date of her marriage, her children’s birth dates and the year her husband died.