The $27K Cheeto: How a Glovertown woman snatched a snack and won a jackpot

Dwight Parsons almost ate a Cheeto worth $27,000.

He had no idea about that, even after his wife, LevernaParsons, plucked it from his hand after she was struck by its peculiar shape.

"We had just put on a movie and went and got some snacks, as you would,"LevernaParsons toldCBC'sSt. John's Morning Show.

He had it almost in his mouth, and I was like, 'Oh god, don't eat it, don't eat it!'- Leverna Parsons

Dwight reached into the bowl, showedLevernathat he'd found a Cheeto that looked like a man running with a football, and was about to pop it in his mouth, when she told him to stop.

"He had it almost in his mouth, and I was like, 'Oh god, don't eat it, don't eat it!'" saidLevernaParsons. "We had a big laugh, of course, about it, because we thought it was great."

Parsons kept it, and put it in a little baggie in the cupboard, and went back to the movie. She didn't know yet that it might actually be worth something.

"What are the odds that are finding one that's so specific? I just felt like it was a conversation piece, actually," she said, laughing.

"I just kept it, thinking, 'Oh, when my buddies come down now, I'll show them.'"

It was about a week later, when her daughter was having some Cheetos that Parsons noticed details about a contest printed on the bag.

Send in a picture of an oddly shaped Cheetoand be eligible for a weekly prize of $2,000, the rules said. Four of the weekly prize winners would be selected as finalists for the public to vote on to win the $25,000 grand prize.

"We went right online, entered the Cheetos Museum contest, and the rest is history," she said. The Parsons titled their entry "The Running Man," sent the little orange guy into the company for verification, and it wasn't long before they held a cheque for $2,000 as a weekly winner.

That was just the start of their good fortune.

Big lead in the voting

Parsons said she wasn't even aware she'd been selected as a finalist until about a week into voting, at which point The Running Man had a big lead.

"We had quite a following here, because you know Newfoundlanders, we all stick together," she said.

The Running Man ran away with it, earning the Parsons the $25,000 grand prize.

"We get such a kick out of it, and everywhere we go now, everybody is always, 'Oh my god, we were voting for you.' It was so good."

Although that fame could have its downside, she laughed.

"I said, 'Oh my goodness, don't tell me that I'm going to go through life and my legacy is going to be I'm the cheesy lady, the Cheetos lady!'"

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