Mavis Wanczyk of Chicopee, Massachusetts, the winner of the $758.7 million Powerball jackpot is pictured in Braintree, Massachusetts, U.S. in this August 24, 2017 photo. (Photo/Agencies)
A hospital worker living in the northeastern U.S. state of Massachusetts claimed a record-breaking undivided jackpot of 758.7 million U.S. dollars on Thursday.
Mavis Wanczyk, 53, bought the winning Powerball ticket at a convenience store in Chicopee, just north of Springfield. The lucky numbers were 6, 7, 16, 23, 26 and the Powerball was 4.
"The first thing I want to do is just sit back and relax," Wanczyk told a press conference.
She revealed that she had already quit her job, a clerical one that she had done for 32 years in the nursing department of Mercy Medical Center in Springfield.
Wanczyk decided to take a lump-sum payment of 480.5 million dollars, or 336 million dollars after taxes, rather than claim the full amount over time, according to the state lottery.
Winners who take a gradual payout will get more money spread out over dozens of years.
A winning ticket matches five numbers drawn between 1 and 69, while the "Powerball" number is drawn from 1 to 26.
The odds of winning are only one in 292 million. In comparison, the odds of being hit by lightning are one in less than 162,000, according to the U.S. National Safety Council.
The jackpot is the largest ever won with a single ticket and the second-largest U.S. lottery prize, dwarfed by a 1.6-billion-dollar Powerball jackpot won by three people in early 2016.
With drawings being held twice a week, Powerball is played in 44 states plus Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, all of which collectively oversee the game.
