

Weirsky had forgotten his tickets on the counter of a Phillipsburg QuickChek convenience store while checking something on his phone. Many winners share their winnings by giving back through charities and by establishing foundations!Ī very lucky New Jersey man experienced a similar act of kindness from a stranger that helped him win a Mega Millions jackpot worth $273 million on 8 March 2019. She also started a foundation dedicated to providing grants to programs aimed at improving the quality of life for the residents of Maine. The lucky winner donated $2 million of her winnings to her old high school, which was in dire need of financial help. Because of the line jump, Mackenzie won $590 million in the draw on. "Another lottery player was kind enough to let me go ahead of them in line to purchase the winning Quick Pick ticket,” Mackenzie said. One of the things on both ladies' shopping list was a Powerball ticket. Mindy Crandall took this lesson to heart and let 84-year-old Gloria Mackenzie cut in line at a supermarket in Zephyrhills, Florida. We're taught to always be polite and respectful, especially to our elders. Multi-Million Dollar Lessons in Politeness Want to try your hand at Canadian lotteries? Play Canada Lotto 6/49 but don't forget where you put your ticket!

“It’s all just by chance that we found it at the last minute like that,” the winner said as she claimed her check. Fortunately, they had found the ticket just in time, as they had just two days left to claim their impressive prize. “If my grandson hadn’t asked me to give him some things for his presentation, I wouldn’t have ever found the ticket,” Pedneault said.Īs it was already April 2019, a whole year since the ticket had been purchased, the couple immediately checked the Loto Quebec website to see if the ticket had already expired. Hidden in a nearly-forgotten book about Japan was a CAN$1 million ($750,000) winning Loto Quebec ticket from an 15 April, 2018 draw. Whilst helping out their grandson with a school project, Nicole Pedneault and Roger Larocque came upon an extremely rewarding surprise from their research. MacKenzie's husband, Ralph, died in 2005.įollow on Twitter.A Learning Experience: Canadian Couple Find Winning Ticket While Helping Out with Homework She was always pleasant and smiling."Īnother neighbor, Don Cecil, joked "I hope she gets a better place to live." It couldn't have happened to a nicer person. "She's so quiet and secluded,'' neighbor James Hill said. The former resident of East Millinocket, Maine, has been a full-time Zephyrhills resident for several years. Neighbors said Mackenzie never mentioned her big win. Mackenzie lives in a modest grey duplex that backs up to a dirt alley and is across from a cow pasture. MacKenzie, the largest sole lottery jackpot winner in history, had 60 days from the drawing date to claim a lump-sum payment. The jackpot eclipsed the $587.6 million Powerball jackpot split by Arizona and Missouri ticket holders last November and is second to the $656 million Mega Millions jackpot won in March 2012 by three ticket holders in Illinois, Kansas and Maryland. Wednesday's announcement ended two weeks of speculation among the dreamers who had snapped up millions of tickets. "We hope that everyone will give us an opportunity to maintain our privacy for our family's benefit," she said. In a statement, MacKenzie said she was "grateful for this blessing of winning'' but said she preferred to stay out of the limelight. Previously, she had purchased four additional tickets ahead of the May 18 drawing. But lottery officials say that MacKenzie told them as she was waiting in line to buy her ticket, a man allowed her to go in front of him, enabling her to purchase the winning quick-pick ticket. MacKenzie, a mother of four, grandmother and great-grandmother, did not speak to reporters outside lottery headquarters, leaving in a silver Ford Focus with family members. She bought the winning ticket at a Publix supermarket in Zephyrhills, a town of 13,000 about 30 miles northeast of Tampa. MacKenzie elected to receive her winnings in a lump-sum payment, worth a pre-tax $370.8 million. She didn't attend a Wednesday press conference although under Florida law, her name was disclosed. Gloria MacKenzie came forward two weeks after hitting the second-largest lottery jackpot ever.

The winner of a record $590.5 million Powerball jackpot is an 84-year-old Florida woman, lottery officials say. Watch Video: $590M Powerball jackpot goes to 84-year-old woman
