Woman wins P9.7M in lottery using ticket she got from her company's Christmas gift exchange
A woman from Kentucky in United States won $175,000 (P9.7 million) in the lottery using the ticket she received during their company's Christmas party.
According to Kentucky Lottery's website, Lori Janes—a dental center manager from Louiseville city—joined their office's white elephant gift exchange.
In the game, participants take turns choosing and opening wrapped gifts with similar prices. They may "steal" others' wrapped gifts, but only twice. The game ends when everybody has an unwrapped gift.
Janes's coworker took her original present, a $25 (P1,300) gift card from department store TJ Maxx, which she said is her favorite place to shop.
Disappointed, she took her other coworker's gift, a set of $25 lottery tickets.
“Once it got to me, it was done and mine to keep," Kentucky Lottery quoted Janes as saying. "That’s when everyone was telling me to scratch them off."
Janes won $50 on the first ticket. As she scratched the Hit the Jackpot ticket, Kentucky Lottery said, she found that she won all 15 spots with the $175,000 (P9.7 million) jackpot
“Everyone was going insane," she said, noting that people scanned the ticket in the lottery's app and double-checked her winnings in a calculator.
“I couldn’t believe it. It was a $25 gift exchange, and I won $175,000!” Janes said.
Accompanied by her husband and two children, Janes claimed her winnings hours after their company party. She received a check for $124,250 (P6.8 million) after taxes.
Janes said she will use the lottery money to pay for her daughter's student loans and their family cars.
“This is so crazy," she said. "I’m truly blessed."