COURTESY OF BOYD GAMING
Jasmine Asami Yamauchi, 26, center, of Waipio hit the $1.8 million jackpot Friday at the California Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas on a Wheel of Fortune slot machine.
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Waipio woman hits big jackpot
The postal carrier has plenty of suggestions for what to do with her $1.8 million
Don't expect to find Jasmine Asami Yamauchi on a shopping spree or with a new car any time soon.
"I don't see the point," said Yamauchi, 26, of Waipio, who won a $1.8 million jackpot in Las Vegas on Friday. "I already have what I need, and I love my car" - a 12-year-old Honda Civic.
"What am I going to do with a new car?"
But her newfound wealth won't go to waste with her mother, Leatrice Yamauchi, around. Mom loves to shop and keeps reminding her that she (Leatrice) should be rewarded "in cash" for Jasmine being in the right place at the right time, Jasmine Yamauchi said.
The mail carrier, who returns to work next week, attained millionaire status on the Wheel of Fortune slot machine at the California Hotel & Casino. She will receive $91,000 a year (excluding the 25 percent that goes to taxes) for the next 20 years.
Yamauchi laughed when she said her mother keeps telling her how "you didn't even want to go to Vegas; you didn't even want to play Wheel of Fortune!" and "you only get one mother." "I know my family deserves some of it, and my celebration is going to include them. They won't have to ask for anything; they know it already (that they will receive something)," she said.
Yamauchi said she isn't worried about being inundated with "junk mail" and solicitations from charitable organizations.
"Bring it on! Send me your mail!" she laughed, adding that it would provide "job security" for herself and her mother, both postal workers. With everyone using the Internet instead of snail mail, the post office has less work to do, she said.
Yamauchi said she's not worried about total strangers approaching her for a handout because "$1.8 million isn't a lot. If I'd won $12 million (or more), I'd be scared. I don't see myself as anything special because it's not unusual to have a million dollars in Hawaii."
A friend asked her if she plans to see the world or go to college, but she's already been there and done that. As a former member of the Air Force, Yamauchi has visited some 30 countries and earned a social sciences degree. (She was 17 when she started active duty, which lasted until 2005.) A single woman, she already owns her own home.
What the jackpot does give her is the freedom from worry - "I'm set for life" - and the chance to pursue a master's degree in business, then a career in corporate accounting. She can start from the bottom and not worry about taking a substantial cut in pay when she gives up her post office job, Yamauchi said.