Diane Blunt’s luck changed about two years too late.

Her gambling led her to steal $40,000 in 1998, but earlier this month she hit the lottery for $15,000. Now most of her windfall will go to her victims and the tax man.

Blunt, 50, appeared in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court yesterday in hopes of keeping a sliver of her winnings.

“Why let her keep anything?” asked Rita McKinley, one of Blunt’s theft victims. “What if she never won the lottery? It’s like saying she should have a bigger share of nothing.”

Judge Stuart A. Friedman let Blunt keep $2,000 so she could buy a car and remain employed. He said he modified her probation to require her to turn over most of her winnings, and he could have jailed her if she re- fused to hand over the money.

Blunt was convicted of two theft counts in 1998 because she pocketed money that two travel groups gave her to book cruises for them. She told court officials the travel deposits covered her own trips - to casinos. She was placed on probation and ordered to attend Gamblers Anonymous

A condition of probation was that she repay the money. Defense attorney Mary Haas McGraw said Blunt had been making $400 monthly payments.

“Compared to most cases down there, nobody pays that kind of restitution,” McGraw said. “I know some people who haven’t made any payment in two years.”

But McKinley and other victims said Blunt was not paying enough soon enough and asked Friedman to take all the winnings.

McGraw said taxes took a third of the winnings. Friedman said $4,000 more had to go to the IRS to cover back taxes. That left about $6,000, and Friedman assigned about $4,000 for the victims.

Assistant County Prosecutor Peter Corrigan said 38 people lost money on one cruise, which was supposed to be a farewell for a relative dying of cancer.