One Michigan woman had her breath taken away — literally — when she realized she had won hundreds of thousands of dollars playing the lottery.
Renae Shelby, 56, of Flint, recently purchased the winning ticket at Khouris Market on Davison Road, where she “always” buys her tickets from the same self-serve machine, according to Michigan Lottery officials.
She later learned that her “lucky machine” had spit out a big winner worth $300,000, lottery officials said in a press release on Thursday.
Shelby had cashed in some old winning tickets to buy herself some of the $5 tickets — and the gamble paid off.
Stunned, Shelby got on the phone with her son “right away,” per the release. But he couldn’t calm down his mom, who was struggling to breathe out of excitement.
“He thought he was going to have to call 911 because I felt like I couldn’t breathe and could barely get my words out to tell him I’d won $300,000,” she told lottery officials. “It was so exciting!”
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Shelby recently claimed her prize, and took home $215,250 after taxes, according to The Kansas City Star.
She told lottery officials that she plans to save the winnings, and is excited about what’s to come.
“Winning this prize has opened new doors and will provide a lot of opportunities for me that weren’t previously there,” she said, per Thursday’s release.
The Emerald Green Wild Time ticket is new, having launched in December, according to the Lottery. So far, more than $6 million has been won playing the game.
Players can win up to $300,000, like Shelby, with more than $39 million in prizes still up for grabs — including two additional $300,000 prizes.
Nine $25,000 prizes and 34 $2,500 prizes are also available, per lottery officials.