Amelia Finefrock
For decades, a woman named Kathy Gilroy raged against gambling in Illinois — calling out casinos, illegal raffles and video poker cafes. She warned that it diminished society’s values, work ethic and squelched the poor’s money as well as leads to addiction, bankruptcy, crime and suicide.
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So it seems odd that this same Kathy just won $25,000 by playing a sweepstakes game at a gambling cafe in Villa Park, according to The Chicago Tribune.
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“I called a pastor friend, and said, ‘Oh my God, should I send it back? What do I do? Do I donate it?’” she said to the Tribune. “He said, ‘Don’t feel guilty. You just got paid for all your volunteer work against gambling.’ It’s God showing his grace on me.”
Though Gilroy is active in sharing her anti-gambling stances, she also has a long history of playing and winning sweepstakes. Gilroy has won electronics and trips to the Bahamas and California, as well as once winning a big-screen TV from a mechanic. But instead of the TV, she instead asked for $1,000 in service according to the Tribune. Uhm – wait, what?
Gilroy has also been noted to play the video poker machines at gambling cafes but only if given a free promo card — because she is not spending her own money to gamble. Huh. Something’s not quite adding up. Gilroy has also noted she enters sweepstakes because, by state law, they must be available free of charge. And Gilroy also says the sweepstakes she plays are perfectly legal, according to the Tribune.
So back to this big-ticket sweepstake Gilroy won. The finalists from the sweepstakes were drawn from each of Laredo’s 52 locations in Illinois and the anti-gambling Gilroy was one of them. Winners were required to be present, according to the Tribune, so Gilroy showed up at a Rosemont restaurant on Dec. 16th and when her number was drawn, she was shocked. According to the news outlet, she chose $25,000 in cash instead of a car and has already purchased stocks with the money. Is anyone else tired of this lady’s whole schpeal?
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According to the Tribune, for Gilroy to receive the winnings, she had to sign an agreement to let Laredo take her photo and use it in anything and everything — which would be ironic for Gilroy to become the poster child for the exact thing she is against but she clearly, by the grace of God, doesn’t care.
The news outlet reports that despite years and years of shutting down illegal raffles and raising awareness across the state that they need to be locally licensed, Gilroy is more than happy to take advantage of sweepstakes whenever possible.
“It’s the gambling I oppose,” she said to the Tribune “not the sweepstakes.”
Whatever you say Gilroy, whatever you say.
