Life has changed forever for Powerball jackpot winner Mavis Wanczyk.
The Massachusetts woman, 53, came forward as the winner of the second-biggest Powerball in history on Thursday, August 24, claiming the massive $758.7 million prize.
At a press conference Thursday, Wanczyk a mother of two who works at a hospital, revealed that she realized she had the winning numbers while leaving work with a colleague. She immediately quit her job of three decades: “I called them and told them I would not be coming back.”
“I couldn’t drive anywhere, I couldn’t do anything,” she said of how she reacted to winning.
As for what she is doing to celebrate her big win, the mom of a 31-year-old daughter and a 26-year-old son is keeping it simple: “The first thing I want to do is I just want to sit back and relax. I had a pipe dream and my pipe dream has finally came true. I wanted to retire in 12 (years) and it came early,” she told reporters. “I am going to hide in my bed. I think that is a good answer.”
“I always wanted to do this. I wanted it over and done with so everybody would leave me alone,” she said about coming forward as the winner so quickly.
The lucky numbers were 6, 7, 16, 23 and 26 and the Powerball number was 4. The odds of matching all six numbers are one in 292.2 million, and Wanczyk’s ticket was the only one to match all of the winning numbers.
According to the Associated Press, Bob Bolduc, the owner of Pride Station and Store in Chicopee, Massachusetts, told reporters that he would be donating the $50,000 prize the store gets from the lottery for selling the winning ticket. Bob Bolduc, the owner of Pride Station and Store in Chicopee, Massachusetts, told reporters that he would be donating the $50,000 prize the store gets from the lottery for selling the winning ticket.
“We were as surprised as everybody else,” Bolduc said. “We’re happy for our customer and we’re happy for the charities.”
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