Mavis L. Wanczyk arrived at Massachusetts lottery headquarters in Braintree to claim her prize Thursday with her mother and sisters.
Wanczyk said it was always a dream to win the Powerball. "It was a chance. A chance I had to take," she told reporters Thursday.
She chose the numbers based on a series of birthdays and numbers special to her.
Wanczyk realized she won while with a coworker Wednesday evening.
"Last night, it was kind of like I hadn't realized I'd won," she said. "I'm just coming down from all that.

The 53-year-old is the mother of two has been a nurse at Mercy Medical Center for 32 years. She called the hospital Thursday morning and said she was taking early retirement.

The $758.7 million Powerball jackpot is the largest single-ticket winnings in the game's history. Opting to take the lump sum option of $480,500,936, Wanczyk will receive $336,350,655 after taxes.

She purchased her ticket at Pride Station & Store at 27 Montgomery St. in Chicopee Wednesday afternoon.

source:http://s.syracuse.com/4apU7yP

The former record of largest lottery prize via a single ticket is $590.5 million. Gloria MacKenzie, then 84 yrs old, of Zephyrhills, Fla., won that Powerball jackpot in May 2013.
She chose the cash option and got $370.9 million. After federal taxes were taken out she walked away with about $278,175,000.

(that's over 50% tax deductions; better still before you spend $1 you have to earn $2.08 first and give the govt her $1.08 in tax!)

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