Kentucky Woman Learns She Won $1 Million On A Powerball Ticket While Checking Her Email
How many times have you logged into your email and noticed a suspicious subject line that said something like “You’re the lucky winner!”
Usually that kind of email would go straight to the spam folder, as a measure of common sense. Usually it’s malicious or a scam and not even worth opening.
But not so much for one Louisville woman.
The woman, who wished to remain anonymous, bought a Powerball ticket online through the Kentucky Lottery’s website for the May 31 drawing.
Her ticket matched the five white balls but not the Powerball, winning $1 million as the second prize in the drawing.
She didn’t realize she won until she logged into her email at work and came across one from the Kentucky Lottery informing her that she had won $1 million.
According to the Kentucky Lottery, the woman and her husband first thought the email was a scam. She said she called her husband shortly after seeing the email.
According to a Kentucky Lottery press release, she told her husband, “‘Are you sitting down? I think I just won a million dollars.”
He said, “Oh, come on. What?”
“I really think I did.”
But then they were reassured that it was legit when they showed up to Kentucky Lotto headquarters to claim the prize in early June.
“I literally was like, no way,” she told the Kentucky Lottery in a press release. “I am just floored.”
She told lottery officials she won $200 two months ago and has taken a liking to buying her lotto tickets online. Kentucky is one of seven states that allow players to buy Powerball and MegaMillions tickets online.
“I’ve played for years,” she told the Kentucky Lottery. “I can go on and do it and it takes only a couple of minutes.”
“Lightning has struck, very good lightning,” her husband told the Kentucky Lottery.
The Louisville woman collected with a check for $715,000 after taxes.
“This gives us so much freedom to do some things we want to do,” she told lottery officials. The couple said they have some things they’d like to do around the house with the money and travel.
“I want it (winning) to be something that is an asset that we have. It’s not something I’m going to blow.”