Worker wins R10bn jackpot
WASHINGTON: A 53-yearold hospital worker claimed a $758.7 million US lottery jackpot yesterday.
Mavis Wanczyk bought the winning Powerball ticket for the second-largest US jackpot in the north-eastern US state of Massachusetts, one of 44 states that participate in the draw, along with the US capital Washington and territories Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.
“It’s never going to be me, it’s just a pipe dream I had,” Wanczyk said she told a friend just before checking the winning numbers on Wednesday.
The winning ticket, with numbers 6, 7, 16, 23, 26 and 4, was sold at a convenience store in Chicopee, just north of Springfield, state lottery officials said.
Wanczyk said she wanted to “sit back and relax” and had already quit her job, retiring early after more than 30 years working with patients at a hospital.
Rather than claiming the full amount over time, she has chosen to take a one-time lump sum payment of $480.5m, which will amount to some $336m after taxes.
The odds of winning are more than one in 292 million. For comparison, the odds of being struck by lightning are one in 161 856, according to the US National Safety Council.
The jackpot is paid out in either an annuitised prize over 29 years or a cash lump-sum payment.
The largest ever US lottery jackpot hit $1.6bn dollars and was claimed by three winners last year. – ANA-DPA