Jennifer Lopez's mother wins jackpot

The mother of the pop singer and actress Jennifer Lopez has won £1.3m playing slot machines in Atlantic City.

The mother of the pop singer and actress Jennifer Lopez has won £1.3m playing slot machines in Atlantic City.

Guadalupe Lopez, 58, a retired New York kindergarten teacher, promised to start a $100,000 (£54,000) college fund for her two grandchildren from the winnings.

Mrs Lopez hit the jackpot on a $3 bet on a "Wheel of Fortune" slot machine at the Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa on Saturday night, it emerged yesterday.

The win - $2,421,291.76 to be precise - was a record for the hotel, although the Atlantic City record slot machine prize is $8.5 million and the American record jackpot of $39.7 million was taken last year at the Excalibur Hotel in Las Vegas.

Mrs Lopez, who shares a name with a patron saint of the Americas, said: "I have a great devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe and said a little prayer. Our Lady really looks out for me."

The casino's spokesman, Michael Facenda, initially denied knowing of any relationship between the jackpot winner and Jennifer Lopez, but the story was broken by the US Weekly and People magazine reported that Guadalupe Lopez was the actress's mother. A representative of the actress acknowledged the connection yesterday.