Woman wins $175,000 lottery prize at office gift exchange party

Woman wins $175,000 lottery prize at office gift exchange party

WeirdNews

Janes called her family, but they were initially skeptical.

NEW YORK (Web Desk) - A Kentucky woman won $175,050 from scratch-off lottery tickets she received as part of a gift exchange at a company holiday party.

Lori Janes. of Louisville. told Kentucky Lottery officials she and her co-workers from the Harmon Dental Center were having a white elephant gift exchange when she lost her first pick, a $25 TJ Maxx gift card, and ended up with $25 worth of scratch-off lottery tickets.

"Once it got to me, it was done and mine to keep. That s when everyone was telling me to scratch them off," Janes said.

Janes  first ticket put her off to a good start with a $50 prize, and the second, a $10 Hit The Jackpot ticket, revealed a $175,000 top prize.

"Everyone was going insane. People were getting their calculators out and double-checking. A couple of people even scanned the ticket on the lottery s app, just to make sure," Janes said.

"I couldn t believe it. It was a $25 gift exchange, and I won $175,000!"

Janes called her family, but they were initially skeptical.

"We figured she didn t look at it right, but then we heard people in the background celebrating, it became real," the winner s husband told lottery officials.

Janes said the prize will allow her to pay off her daughter s student loans and her family s cars.

"This is so crazy. I m truly blessed," she said.