After being given a lottery scratch-off as a gift, a Kentucky woman left the company's holiday party $175,000 richer, according to New York Post.
"Lori Janes, office manager and treatment coordinator at Harmon Dental Center in Louisville, claimed that she had originally taken a $25 TJ Maxx gift card at a party on Wednesday, but that a different employee ultimately decided to take the gift from her in accordance with the game's rules. After that, Janes had the option of selecting a different gift and decided to gamble $25 on scratch-off tickets," the news outlet further mentioned.
"Once it got to me, it was done and mine to keep," Janes said, per the state lottery. "That's when everyone was telling me to scratch them off."
According to a news release from Kentucky Lottery officials, Janes won $50 on the first ticket, then scratched off the $10 "Hit The Jackpot" ticket which revealed a win on all 15 spots on her ticket, winning the game's $175,000 top prize.
"Everyone was going insane," Janes continued in her statement. "People were getting their calculators out and double-checking. A couple of people even scanned the ticket on the lottery's app, just to be sure."
As for Janes, she "couldn't believe it."
"It was a $25 gift exchange, and I won $175,000!" she said.
After a few hours, Janes and her family made their way to the lottery's main office to pick up their reward, which was worth $124,250 after taxes, according to FOX 5 Atlanta.
"This is so crazy. I'm truly blessed," she said.
The Kentucky Lottery was informed by Janes that she intended to use the money to pay off her daughter's educational loans as well as their automobile loan.
