A woman who asked to be known as 'Lady Jackpot Chaser' collected her million dollar prize after she finally won after decades of playing and getting nothing but bad luck.
The winning lady says she used her birthday numbers for years, but the winning ticket consisted of a combination of a friend's birthday and some random numbers mixed in, on her Mega Millions ticket.
The 61-year-old saleswoman she's been an avid player for most of her adult life, and although she always tried, she was shocked actually to be holding the winning ticket in her hands.
The woman, from Silver Springs, Maryland, added: "I always said that I would win the lottery one day."
Despite her win, she vowed to keep playing for an even bigger jackpot.
This time she has her eyes set on the Mega Millions prize, which is currently set at an estimated annuity of USD 368 million (GBP 291 million), with an estimated cash value of USD 193.4 million (GBP 152.9 million) for the drawing on Friday, 30th June.
She said: "Oh yes, I will keep playing."
According to the Maryland Lottery website, "She plans to continue playing the lottery and will use her winnings to pay off her mortgage."
This is also the third time this year that a Maryland resident has won a $1 million Mega Millions prize. Which is good news for state stores selling lottery tickets.
Maryland Lottery officials shouted out "Her lucky store," which is the one that finally sold the 'Lady Jackpot Chaser' a winning ticket. According to the agency, the "7-Eleven #11572 in Silver Spring also gets in on the fun of her chase."
"The Montgomery County retailer located at 12405 Georgia Avenue received a USD 2,500 [GBP 1,976] bonus from the lottery for selling the second-tier winning ticket to 'Lady Jackpot Chaser.'"
