Massachusetts Woman, 53, Wins Massive Powerball Jackpot And Promptly Quits Job

The winner of the $758.7 million Powerball lottery came forward on Thursday.

Mavis Wanczyk, 53, of Chicopee, Massachusetts, is the sole winner of the grand prize. 

At a press conference, Wanczyk said she recalled thinking, “It’s never gonna be me.” She added: “It’s just a pipe dream I’ve always had.”

Wanczyk said she’s already informed her employer, Mercy Medical Center in Springfield, Massachusetts, that she won’t be coming back to work. “The first thing I want to do is, I just want to sit back and relax,” she said. 

Mavis Wanczyk talks about her emotions from last night to now after winning the $758M Powerball jackpot. pic.twitter.com/38ce5w575y

— WPEC CBS12 News (@CBS12) August 24, 2017

The prize is the second largest in the lottery’s history, bested only by last year’s  $1.586-billion prize split between three winning tickets. It is the largest grand prize won by a single lottery ticket in U.S. history, according to Powerball Product Group Chair Charlie McIntyre.

The winning numbers drawn Wednesday night were: 6, 7, 16, 23, 26, and the Powerball number was 4. The odds of selecting those winning numbers were about 1 in 292 million.The winning numbers were selected after 20 drawings in recent weeks failed to yield a winner.

Wanczyk, the mother of a grown son and daughter, purchased her winning ticket at the Pride Station & Store in Chicopee and chose some of the numbers based on family members’ birthdays. The store’s owner, Bob Bolduc, said Thursday he will donate the $50,000 prize he receives for selling the ticket to local children’s charities.

This article has been updated with more information on Wanczyk and where she bought the winning ticket.