Powerball Player Finds Out About $310 Million Win Whilst at McDonald’s

Wednesday October 7^th 2015

As Powerball players look forward to the first draw to be held under new rules on Wednesday night, a woman from Michigan has come forward to claim the last jackpot won before the changes took effect. Julie Leach, from Three Rivers, was the only ticket holder to match all five main numbers plus the Powerball on Wednesday 30th September to instantly become $310.5 million richer.

Julie revealed that she was at a McDonald’s drive-thru when she found out about her success, whilst taking a break from her job as a supervisor at a fibreglass factory. She told reporters: "I was having a really bad night at work and I thought I better check my numbers." Julie went back to work to get her colleagues to verify the results, before immediately giving up her job.

"I quit automatically. I was done," she said, describing her job as ‘dirty’ and ‘nasty’. Julie, who has decided to accept the lump sum cash option of $197.4 million and will receive a payout of $140 million after taxes, added: “I didn’t go to sleep for over 30 hours when I found out.”

Julie, 50, has always imagined what she would do if she enjoyed a big win and she is thrilled that she will now be able to realize those dreams of looking after her family, which includes three children and 11 grandchildren. “We always talked around campfires ... saying if we ever won the lottery we wanted to buy a bunch of land and build all of our kids a home - basically have our own little community.”

Julie, who has previously turned down several marriage proposals from her partner, was also asked about whether he might try asking her again. She joked: "I said he would have to sign a pre-nup now.”

The Powerball jackpot rolled over on Saturday night and the following morning a number of changes were made to the game ahead of tonight’s draw, with players now required to select five main numbers from 1 to 69 and a Powerball from 1 to 26. There will be a jackpot of $50 million up for grabs in this evening’s draw and it will be fascinating to see if anyone can follow in Julie Leach’s footsteps and pick up a fortune.

Written by Chris Brown

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