Lottery winner tells boss ‘a situation had come up’ — then leaves work to hide ticket

A lottery player won a jackpot while at work, then she promptly took off for the rest of the day, officials say.

The woman, from Huron County, Michigan, won the prize with a Club Keno ticket she purchased at a convenience store in Harbor Beach before work on Jan. 17, according to the Michigan Lottery.

As her shift was starting, all eight of her numbers were drawn. By matching the numbers — 01, 24, 29, 40, 44, 55, 74 and 75 — she won the game’s top prize of $410,125.

She told lottery officials the win left her “in complete shock.”

“I told my boss a situation had come up, and I had to go home because my first thought was that I needed to get the ticket locked up in a safe place,” she said, according to a Feb. 5 news release. “Winning truly couldn’t have come at a better time!”

Club Keno costs as little as $1 to play. Odds of matching all eight numbers are 1-in-230,115.

The winner said she plans on using the money for a vacation, saving the remainder.

Harbor Beach is about 125 miles northeast of Detroit.

This story was originally published February 5, 2024 at 7:26 AM with the headline "Lottery winner tells boss ‘a situation had come up’ — then leaves work to hide ticket."