Aug. 24 (UPI) — The Massachusetts State Lottery said Thursday that Mavis L. Wanczyk bought the winning $758 million Powerball prize.
The 53-year-old employee at Springfield’s Mercy Medical Center said at a news conference Thursday afternoon that buying the ticket was “a chance I had to take.”
Wanczyk said she chose the winning ticket using family birthdays and numbers her family and friends consider lucky.
Winning the lottery was a “pipe dream” come true, she said, but she hopes her life returns to normal.
“I just want to sit back and relax,” Wanczyk said, before joking that she called the medical center to tell them she “will not be coming back.”
Wanczyk will have the option of receiving an immediate lump sum of more than $400 million, or receive the money over a course of 29 years.
Earlier Thursday, the Massachusetts State Lottery incorrectly stated that the winning ticket was sold in Watertown — when it was actually sold in Chicopee.
“The jackpot winning ticket in Wednesday night’s Powerball drawing was sold at the Pride Station & Store location at 27 Montgomery St. in Chicopee,” the state lottery authority said in a statement. “It was initially stated that the jackpot winning ticket was sold at Handy Variety … and that a $1 million prize winning ticket was sold at the Pride Station & Store. Handy Variety sold a $1 million prize winning ticket.”
That means the owner of the Pride station will get the $50,000 prize for selling the winning ticket.
“We’re going to give all the money to charity, that’s our pattern. We really believe in supporting local charities,” owner Bob Bolduc said during a press conference Thursday.
Kamaljeet Kaur, the owner of Handy Variety in Watertown, initially said she was “very happy” when she was told by lottery officials that her store had sold the winning ticket.
Winning the grand prize requires matching all five numbers plus the red Powerball number. If you only match only the Powerball number you win $4 and winners matching more win anywhere between $7 and $1 million.
In addition to the single winner in Massachusetts, 40 people nationwide won more than $1 million in prizes — 34 got four numbers right and six people matched five numbers.
Because there’s a winner, Wednesday’s jackpot will remain as the overall second-richest in U.S. lottery history — surpassed only by a Powerball payout in January 2016 worth nearly $1.6 billion.
