A worker at Springfield, Mass.-based Mercy Medical Center claimed the $758.7 million Powerball jackpot Aug. 23, the second-largest lottery prize in U.S. history and the largest grand prize won by a single lottery ticket in U.S. history, according to The Washington Post.
Mavis Wanczyk, 53, who worked in patient care at the medical center for 32 years, said she "called [Mercy Medical Center] and told them [she] will not be coming back" after discovering she had won the prize, The Boston Globe reports.
"The first thing I want to do is just sit back and relax," Ms. Wanczyk said during a press conference Aug. 24. "I want to just be me and be alone and … figure out what I want to do." She said she celebrated her winnings by staying home in bed Thursday evening.
Ms. Wanczyk said she hadn't actively kept an eye on the winning numbers. She claimed she found out she won when a colleague told her the numbers, according to The Boston Globe. "I just happened to choose [the numbers], and it worked to my advantage," she said during the press conference.
Ms. Wanczyk elected to receive her winnings as a lump sump of $336 million after tax instead of in monthly payments.
A Powerball spokesperson said six tickets sold in Connecticut, Illinois, Louisiana, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and the Virgin Islands won $2 million each. Thirty-four other ticket winners received $1 million prizes, The Washington Post reports.
The convenience store that sold Ms. Wanczyk the winning ticket also received a bonus for selling the ticket, but plans to donate the funds to local charities throughout western Massachusetts, according to The Washington Post.