Penzo suggested three numbers, and Cunningham came up with three more numbers on his own. Meanwhile, Charlie and Yvonne spend a lot of time together, often giving gifts to passengers of the subway or to children, about which the media report. But did you know that it wasn't entirely all made up? In March of that year, Officer Robert Cunningham, a regular patron and longtime friend of Penzo, suggested that the two split a lottery ticket, each of them choosing three of the six numbers, in lieu of his leaving her a tip. when Cunningham discovered that the ticket had won a $6 million prize, he honored their verbal agreement and split it, Knowledge Ninja May 1, 2023 2 min read, Knowledge Ninja May 1, 2023 1 min read, The Dashboard Decoder: Unraveling the Mystery Behind Your Cars Hidden Messages , The Secret Scrolls of Carbon Emissions: Unveiling The Eco-Ninja Guide, The Stealth Stats: Unmasking Russias Nuclear Threats Since 1999, From Silent Killers to Modern Assassins: The Shift in Top Causes of Death (1900 vs 2010), From Feline to Ninja: Mastering the Ancient Art of Cat Petting , The Art of Pep Talk: A Ninjas Ultimate Guide to Self-Motivation . If I win, tomorrow we will split the winnings and if I don't I will come back and leave you the tip. 2023-05-01T12:20:48.444Z, Pope talks about a secret peace 'mission' that will help Ukrainian children taken to Russia South Pizzeria, where she worked, was a hangout for the Yonkers cops. Waitress Yvonne Biasi, is bankrupt because her husband Eddie, whom she had not yet been able to afford to divorce, took her credit card and spent $12,000 without her permission. In 1984, Phyllis Penzo was a waitress at a pizzeria commonly frequented by Yonkers, New York, police officers.In March of that year, Officer Robert Cunningham, a regular patron and longtime friend of Penzo, suggested that the two split a lottery ticket, each of them choosing three of the six numbers, in lieu of his leaving her a tip. In 1984, Phyllis Penzo was a waitress at a pizzeria commonly frequented by Yonkers, New York police officers. Buy one Powerball ticket and get a second one free! Join here: Get the best of Cracked sent directly to your inbox! She flirts with him and later starts an affair. This way, everyone had space of their own. Making a splash: A deep dive into the live-action Little Mermaid with a new generation's Ariel. The first of two times where Nicholas Cage plays a cop. The movie is based on the true story of Phyllis Penzo and Officer Robert Cunningham. 2023-05-01T12:56:49.161Z, France pinned at the UN for racial discrimination and violence during demonstrations D.C. police officers stand near shell casings marked with numbers after a shooting at the Potomac Avenue Metro station on Wednesday. He does win, and he makes good on his promise, giving her $2 million. Still, he persisted. 2023-05-01T12:56:54.694Z, Spain heats up like in summer and worries about the future ***, Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations. Phyl and I had been friends for about 15 years. 2023-05-01T13:20:49.553Z, They want to control Pulga Rodrguez 'minute by minute': he woke up, but he does not remember anything about the brutal accident To compensate her for her honesty, police offered her $1000. Copyright 2022 | Lottery Critic. Nicolas Cage and Richard Jenkins both appear in Trapped in Paradise (1994) which also came out in 1994. Penzo agreed and even helped Cunningham choose the numbers. Charlie doesn't mind giving his share of the money but Muriel also wants the money he gave Yvonne, which causes Charlie to take the case to court. Theres no sweep-you-off-your-feet romance. The waitress, alert, comes to her senses and immediately becomes emotional to tears, screams and tells her husband, who is sleeping next to her. 2023-05-01T13:44:44.348Z, What Steven Spielberg Regrets From ET The Extra-Terrestrial A COP ONCE TIPPED A PIZZA WAITRESS $3 MILLION, Ranking All Six Episodes of the Very So-So First Season of Parks and Recreation, The Funniest Thing on Netflix Right Now is the Success of The Snowman, There Is No Excuse Left to Not Call Your Parents: Parrots That FaceTime Each Other Are Less Lonely, Mussolinis Granddaughter Had Beef With Jim Carrey, John Mulaney Turned Down the Hosting Gig on The Daily Show Because His Sitcom Sucked So Bad, Four Ways Humans Are Terrible at Communicating, According to Science. 2023-05-01T14:14:51.141Z, May Day protests: why the use of drones provokes the legal debate Regardless, it was a box office hit that made nearly $38 million while in theatres, which is a substantial profit considering the movies $20 million budget. When Muriel and Charlie divorce, Muriel wants all the money that Charlie won for herself. In real life, however (as stated in a disclaimer at the end of the movie), Cunningham and Penzo were both happily married to other people for many years. In real life, apparently Cunningham's wife was fine with the split, which is a little surprising. Just as Charlie and Yvonne are giving up and moving out of town, they begin receiving bags of mail from New Yorkers who read the story, sending encouraging letters containing "tips for the cop and the waitress" totaling about $600,000. If you loved the video, make sure to like smash that subscribe button and click the notification bell to stay up to date on this journey with us. Welcome to our Fun Fact Compilation! For more strange lottery wins, check out: Amanda Clayton Wins a Million Dollars, Gets Arrested for Welfare Fraud, The Winners Who Hid the Money from Their Spouses, A Fortune Cookie Correctly Predicts Lottery Numbers For 100+ People. Madonna and Marisa Tomei turned down the role of Yvonne Biasi. news Halle Bailey, Melissa McCarthy, and director Rob Marshall share the tale behind making their underwater musical with a groundbreaking Disney princess. In 1984, detective Robert Cunningham from Dobbs Ferry, New York, won a lottery payout and split it with his waitress, Phyllis Penzo, as he'd promised. After the night at the Plaza, we see the reporter standing reading a newspaper with "Night at the Plaza" as the headline, and a picture of Charlie and Yvonne exiting the Plaza. Nicolas Cage, Bridget Fonda, and Rosie Perez were all born in 1964. I don't have enough for a tip, I will split the lottery ticket. Follow Ryan Menezes on Twitter for more stuff no one should see. 2023-05-01T12:38:54.411Z, Ukraine - Russia war: latest news live | Ukraine shoots down 15 of 18 Russian-launched missiles in new massive overnight attack Quite innocently, Charlie and Yvonne run into each other at the Plaza Hotel and, unintentionally, end up spending the night together. Cunningham gave Penzo a tip of $142,857.50 a year for twenty years. Mar 31 138th Grand National: Neale Doughty wins aboard 13/1 Hallo Dandy; 23 . Phyllis received her tip of $3 million as she was promised. When asked about the artists who performed them, Phyllis said that she wished she was like Bridget Fonda, adding, Naturally, I was thrilled when we won. After all, the possibility of winning millions is much more tempting than a measly tip. In It Could Happen to You, strangers Charlie and Yvonne are both married to unbearable, self-centered people, and they find solace in each other amidst their turbulent personal lives. Rosie Perez appeared in the sequel, Perdita Durango. She had to have them bound down for the first half of the movie, to appear smaller. When interviewed by Entertainment Weekly, Phyllis expressed discontentment with the portrayal of a love story when that wasnt her story with Robert at all. Naturally, I was thrilled when we won. Cunningham, chief of the neighborhood police department's detective division, has an ordinary day. Want more like this, straight from your email inbox, without any ads or popups? Electrical Parts If I win, tomorrow we will split the winnings and if I don't I will come back and leave you the tip. "The movie is based on the true story of Phyllis Penzo and Officer Robert Cunningham. All the numbers came up, and he kept his word by sharing the jackpot with her. Ten years later, when referring to the subject, Cunningham would explain that that day he jokingly suggested to his friend to bet a ticket: "We are going to buy a lottery ticket together instead of a tip", is the phrase he said. When she realised he was being genuine, she was filled with immediate excitement and woke her husband to tell him the good news: they were now millionaires. This event was the basis of the film, It Could Happen to You (1994) The first couple facts in each ad were proper fun facts, while the last, once they had your attention, was a fact about Wrigley gum. In both stories, the tip was a tad bigger than either expected from a $5 ticket that could also have paid out something tiny. Police Officer Charlie Lang is a kind and generous man who loves his job and the Queens area of New York City where he lives. We invite you to stay tuned to this Fact Compilation!I hope you guys enjoy this video and find it useful. Three years after winning the lottery, he stopped working at the pizzeria where he spent 27 years of his life. At the film's end, Charlie and Yvonne get married and begin their honeymoon by taking off from Central Park in a hot air balloon that bears the New York Post headline "Cop Weds Waitress", just before the closing credits roll. Origins: Not just the fanciful plot of the Nicolas Cage movie It Could Happen To You, this did happen to one lucky Yonkers plate-slinger back in 1984. Hello everyone! Though Robert was initially joking, Phyllis was hasty to agree. In the movie, the cop promises to split because he has no money for a tip; in real life, Cunningham promised it because Penzo helped him pick the numbers. People often introduce a fun fact, sometimes in the form of witty and biting observations, with the phrase itself because otherwise how would you know it was a fun fact. That same evening, Yvonne leaves her apartment after her husband shows up and threatens to stay until he gets $50,000 from her. After Cunningham finally convinced her that it was not a joke, she screamed and woke her husband, Robert, a construction worker, to tell him they were rich. 2023-05-01T11:20:47.591Z. Cunningham and Penzo had been friends for 15 years at that point. 2023-05-01T13:50:44.341Z, Mercado Pago launches 2,500 free financial education scholarships for women entrepreneurs: how to sign up Initially, she was hesitant to believe him, as it was April Fools Day and she was certain it was just a rude prank. This is how our family operates. (Thread) pic.twitter.com/CiuNUZdbCp Cunningham, a thirty-year veteran of the police force in nearby Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., was a regular customer at the restaurant, well-liked by the staff there. Apparently it is an ordinary day. Yvonne's ex-husband Eddie ends up being a taxi driver. 2023-05-01T13:56:50.193Z, Lionel Messi and a lightning trip to Saudi Arabia after the heavy defeat with PSG Whilst based on a true story, it doesn't come close to the tail of . The first was Honeymoon in Vegas (1992). 2023-05-01T13:20:43.945Z, Wood carvers in the square in Trieste with chainsaws Cunningham, a thirty-year police veteran, was a regular diner at Sal's, where he liked to order linguine with clam sauce and maintain a steady flow of banter with Penzo, other employees, and regular customers. Penzo suggested three numbers, and Cunningham came up with three more numbers on his own. For twenty-four years, Penzo served as a waitress at Sal's Pizzeria in Yonkers, New York. The film was called Cop Gives Waitress Million Dollar Tip when it was shot there. During that long tenure, she saw nice customers, difficult customers, generous tippers, and skinflints. While the movie was based on the story of the shared lottery ticket, it didnt stay true to what actually happened. Cunningham's ticket had won $6 million, which he split with Penzo, giving her $3 million. In March of that year, Officer Robert Cunningham, a regular patron and longtime friend of Penzo, suggested that the two split a lottery ticket, each of them choosing three of the six numbers, in lieu of his leaving her a tip. Sal's Pizzeria, where he worked, was a hangout for the Yonkers police. N.Y. Policeman Robert Cunningham and Waitress Phyllis Penzo split the winnings on a six million dollar lottery payout. 2023-05-01T13:08:43.779Z, AI in education? On April Fools Day, at 9:00 am, Penzo received the call that would change her life. The view then pans to the elevator, and we see Charlie and Yvonne exit the elevator, and walk out the front door of the Plaza, where their picture is taken - the same picture that the reporter was just looking at. Except for the part where we won, it's totally fiction, said the waitress. Phyllis thought it was an April Fool's Day prank at first, but when Cunningham reiterated, she started screaming in excitement. Home and design The movie is based on the true story of Phyllis Penzo and Officer Robert Cunningham. In the film It Could Happen To You, Nicolas Cage plays a New York City cop who doesn't have enough money to tip his waitress, so instead promises her that if his lottery ticket wins then he'll share the winnings with her.It wins, rewarding him with $4 million and he returns to the diner and gives the waitress half of it. How the Hell Did The Late Late Show with James Corden Lose $20M Every Year? Cage is a gracious, good-natured New York cop who wins the lotto; against the wishes of his demanding, mercurial wife (Perez), he splits it with a hard-luck waitress (Fonda) as repayment for not leaving a tip! "The main thing is that you live comfortably and you can buy things whenever you want," he said in a note from '94.

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phyllis penzo and officer robert cunningham