Just imagine going from being an ordinary medical care centre worker to a multi-millionaire in a matter of seconds.
This is exactly the situation 53-year-old Mavis Wanczyk found herself in.
Mavis’ random selection of lottery numbers meant she became the winner of the biggest single ticket for the Powerball jackpot ever.
After tax deductions, Massachusetts based Mavis will still walk away with a gigantic $336,350,655 (£262,753,425), elevating her way beyond the riches of megastars such as Kanye West and Leonardo DiCaprio.
However, she did admit she’d have been ‘very happy’ with just the $1 million…
Like most of us, Mavis never thought it would happen to her, and speaking at a press conference told CBS News:
I thought it’s never going to me, it’s just a pipe dream I’ve always had.
Meet the #Powerball $758.7 million prize winner Mavis Wanczyk pic.twitter.com/QyG12lV0oS
— Mass. State Lottery (@MAStateLottery) August 24, 2017
To describe this sort of colossal cash injection as life-changing would be an understatement – Mavis is now set up for the rest of her days, having bid farewell to the money woes the rest of us wrangle with on a daily basis.
Who hasn’t thought of the dreams you could achieve with this level of financial freedom?
You could travel to all the places you’ve longed to see – twice over – and you wouldn’t even have to wait for a good deal on Late Rooms…
Listen to Mavis tell her incredible story below:
[ooyala code=”E1eXllYzE6An0wddMWHMfHG9yLca1DCD” player_id=”5df2ff5a35d24237905833bd032cd5d8" auto=”true” width=”1280" height=”720" pcode=”twa2oyOnjiGwU8-cvdRQbrVTiR2l”]
However, while many of us would head straight to the nearest airport, it looks like sensible Mavis will be taking time out to really figure out what she wants from her new life, showing admirable restraint.
Mavis made the following modest statement:
I want to be just me, be alone and be me and just figure out what I want to do.
The first thing I want to do is sit back and relax… I wanted to retire in 12 [years[years]t came early.
I’ve called them [her w[her workplace]old them I will not be coming back.
Congratulations to Mavis Wanczyk ??? Winner of the largest lottery drawing in US History! #Powerball #Chicopee #MA pic.twitter.com/wkOfjEW3Ad
— HopelessHicks (@RicanInBoston) August 24, 2017
Mavis has had a tragic time lately, losing her firefighter husband William in a hit-and-run crash only last year.
Hopefully Mavis will have a long and happy retirement ahead of her!
Jules studied English Literature with Creative Writing at Lancaster University before earning her masters in International Relations at Leiden University in The Netherlands (Hoi!). She then trained as a journalist through News Associates in Manchester. Jules has previously worked as a mental health blogger, copywriter and freelancer for various publications.