Powerball Winner: Meet The $758 Million Woman

BRAINTREE, MA — The "pipe dream" has come true for a hospital worker just three months shy of her planned retirement.

Mavis Wanczyk appeared at the Massachusetts Lottery's headquarters in Braintree to claim her winnings from Wednesday night's historic Powerball drawing. The grand prize, $758.7 million, is the largest won on a single ticket in any North American lottery.

"I just want to sit back and relax," Wanczyk told reporters. "I had a pipe dream, and my pipe dream has finally come true. I wanted to retire and it came early."

Wanczyk chose the lump-sum option, meaning a one-time payment of about $480.5 million, which will leave her about $336 million after state and federal taxes, according to Lottery officials. "Today I'm driving and I'm thinking this can't be true, it can't be. I just want to be me and figure out what I want," she said.

The winning ticket was purchased about 2:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Pride Station & Store near her home in Chicopee

The 53-year-old Southbridge native said she has no immediate plans for the money aside from paying off her car, but has told her bosses at Mercy Medical Center that she will not be coming back. She had planned to retire in 12 weeks after 32 years on the job.

Wanczyk said she discovered she had won as she was leaving work Wednesday night with a colleague.

"He's reading these numbers, and I pull mine out, and I go, 'Hey, I have that number. And I have that -- I have that!'" she told reporters. "And he goes, 'Let me see that ticket. You just won!'"

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The winning digits — 6, 7, 16, 23 and 26, and the Powerball number of 4 — were a mix of birthdays and random numbers, she said.

State Treasurer Deb Goldberg said the lottery is ready to provide any financial literacy programs Wanczyk and her family may need.

"This is just something people never anticipate happening in their lives. I recommended (to her) that a lot of people will come after her in order to recommend all sorts of different things she can to do with her money," Goldberg said. "We are standing ready to be supportive and make sure her and her family have the best resources to make the best decision for them."

There were two other local winners last night, with $1 million tickets sold in Dorchester and Watertown. The Watertown situation is a bittersweet one; the Lottery initially said the $758 million winning jackpot ticket was sold there instead of Chicopee. A correction said Watertown had sold a $1 million winning ticket. The Lottery attributed the flub to human error.

See Also: Mega-Millionaire Lottery Winners: Where Are They Now?

Photo credits: Mavis Wanczyk (right) is joined by State Treasurer Deb Goldberg. Photos by Dan Libon, Patch staff