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When Stacey Fiore of Barnegat won $1 million playing the Powerball, she didn’t believe it.

“I usually check my tickets before I go to work, but I forgot,” she told the New Jersey Lottery, while claiming her prize with her husband, Greg Fiore.

“I checked the numbers on Monday on the (phone app),” Stacey said. “It said ‘Congratulations. You won a million dollars.’ … I checked again and it said again that I won.”

Not convinced, Stacey called her husband of 32 years, who confirmed the numbers again.

“I told him he better not be messing with me,” Stacey joked. “And did we buy real tickets?”

Stacey’s was the only ticket in the Saturday, Nov. 9 drawing to match five white balls to win a million dollars as no one won the jackpot. The winning numbers were: 11, 24, 50, 56, and 66 with the Powerball: 16. The ticket was purchased at Quick Stop on West Bay Avenue in Bargnegat (Ocean County).

Stacey, a supervisor for the New York City’s MTA on Staten Island where her husband is also a bus driver, became the 39th New Jersey Lottery draw game player this year to win at least $1 million and the 10th playing Powerball, the lottery agency said.

“I was just in shock. You wait your whole life for this, and you are still in shock,” she said.

In New Jersey, lottery winners can remain annoymous under a law signed by Gov. Phil Murphy in 2020, but Stacey doesn’t care.

“I like telling people,” Stacey said. “I went to the bank and asked to speak to the manager. I said ‘You know somebody won $1 million here in town? Well, that’s me!’ She was super excited. It’s nice to celebrate.”

More: What would you do if you won the lottery? Survey answers might surprise you

The money won’t change much for the Fiore family, who don’t have major plans except maybe a nice vacation.

“Our kids… they are happy for us,” Greg said. “But they do know Christmas is coming.”

The couple went back to work at the MTA despite their newfound riches.

“Maybe no more overtime for me,” Greg said.

“Oh, there’s still going to be overtime for you!” Stacey joked.

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Two days after Donald Trump became president elect, Lawnside, New Jersey, resident Dawn Hines’ work day was interrupted by a series of calls from an unknown number.

When she finally answered her phone, it was her neighbor who informed her that her backyard fence was vandalized with spray paint depicting male genitalia and the words “I HATE N******. SORRY NOT SORRY.” The neighbor sent her photos of her defaced fence.

“Immediately, when I saw the graphics and exactly, you know, everything that it said and spelled out, I just was a little numb,” she said.

In the more than three centuries of Lawnside’s existence, nothing like this has ever happened, according to residents. Incorporated in 1926, the borough is the Garden State’s only Black antebellum community.

Hines has lived in Lawnside for more than two decades. She believes Trump’s history of incendiary rhetoric on race has emboldened racially motivated attacks.

“I would honestly say that it was done at the heels of the election,” she said.

Her backyard can be seen from a major road that connects to several nearby towns, including Runnemede, Magnolia and Voorhees, and she believes that’s the reason her fence became a target.

“It was strategically placed. It’s so perfect,” said Hines. “Anybody can, you know, just view what was put on there. They wanted to get the message across, and they did.”

Bias incidents have recently hit records in New Jersey

If the incident on Hines’ property is directly linked to the election, Amol Sinha, executive director of the ACLU of New Jersey, said he would not be surprised.

“When you have hate spewing from the very top, what ends up happening is that there’s a trickle down of hate and fear that perpetuates our communities,” he said.

Sinha said that bias incidents, the state’s legal term for hate crimes, could increase as Trump selects cabinet members who share his divisive views.

“I’m afraid that we’re going to see more of that in the second Trump administration and potentially more hate crimes as a result,” he said.

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