When business types talk about the “gay dollar,” they’re usually talking about gay men rather than lesbians. But every now and then, some of us get a windfall. Here are two tales of cashing in:
1. In Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, a lesbian couple has hit the lotto jackpot — to the tune of $4,203,469. Maria Merlie De Vera plans to quit her job, but her partner, Mel De Vera, plans to keep working. Why do people do that? I used to buy lotto tickets with some co-workers, and we all agreed that the minute we won, we’d clear out our desks. (Of course, we all ended up doing that anyway, so maybe there was a larger work ethic issue.)
This is an especially great lottery story, though, because Maria was born with spina bifida and will now be able to tend to her health concerns without worrying about getting to work on time. Maria and Mel plan to buy a BMW and then share the wealth with their loved ones.
2. Amelie Mauresmo (who was already rolling in it anyway) recently won a diamond-studded tennis racket. It weighs 8.8 pounds and sports 1,702 diamonds. Mauresmo has won the Diamond Games tournament three times in a row now, so apparently they thought she deserved a little extra bling. I’m sure Mauresmo appreciates her shiny prize. But I’ll bet she’s even more excited about the announcement that at Wimbledon, the women will finally be paid as much as the men. Thank you, Billie Jean King.
