Lucky Kentucky woman checks email at work to find she’s won big playing Powerball

One lucky Louisville woman walked away from work much richer after checking her email to find she won $1 million playing Powerball.

The woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, according to a Monday release from Kentucky Lottery, has played for years and recently won $200 in a separate play.

She likes to purchase her tickets online, she told lottery officials.

“I can go on and do it and it takes only a couple of minutes,” she said, according to the release.

That’s just what she did for the May 31 Powerball drawing, according to the release.

She was checking her emails at work when she noticed one from the Kentucky Lottery alerting her to the win. The woman had matched the five white balls, but didn’t manage to get the Powerball, resulting in the game’s second prize of $1 million.

“I literally was like, no way,” she said, per the release. “I am just floored.”

The overall odds of winning any prize playing the Powerball are 1 in 24.8671, according to Kentucky Lottery. The odds on the $1 million prize are 1 in 11,688,054.

She said, upon reading the email, she ducked outside to call her husband with the news.

“Are you sitting down?” she asked him, according to lottery officials. “I think I just won a million dollars.”

He thought she was kidding.

The pair considered for a time the email was a scam, but after “receiving the reassurance they needed,” the woman was able to collect her prize at Kentucky Lottery headquarters.

“Lightning has struck, very good lightning,” her husband said.

After taxes, the woman received a check for $715,000 which she said will give her the ability to work on her home and travel.

“This gives us so much freedom to do some things we want to do,” she stated in the release. “I want it [winning] to be something that is an asset that we have. It’s not something I’m going to blow.”

If you or someone you know has a problem gambling, help is available at 1-800-522-4700.

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