Transit worker wins $1,000,000 lottery after joking about not returning to work
A transit employee who joked about not going back to work if she won the lottery had the wish of her lifetime come true.
Stacey Fiore, a supervisor for New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), told her colleagues that they would not see her at work if she won the Powerball drawing on Saturday.
The Ocean County resident used quick for her weekly Powerball and Mega Millions tickets at a Quick Stop convenience store on Bay Avenue in Barnegat.
‘I usually check my tickets before I go to work, but I forgot,’ she told the New Jersey Lottery.
She checked her ticket numbers on the lottery’s phone app on Monday.
‘It said, “Congratulations. You won a million dollars,”’ she said, adding that she could not believe it.
‘I checked again and it said again that I won.’
She also joked that she would not let her husband Greg – a bus operator – check the the lottery numbers because ‘I don’t trust him’.
But not believing her own eyes, she called him to verify. Greg confirmed that the ticket had the winning numbers of 11, 24, 50, 56 and 66. It did not match the Powerball number, 16, but it still yielded a prize of $1million.
‘I told him he better not be messing with me, and did we buy real tickets?’ Stacey said.
‘I was just in shock. You wait your whole life for this, and you are still in shock.’
Even though she joked she would not go back to work if she won the lottery, Stacey has continued to make her one-hour commute from home to her job on Staten Island.
‘Maybe no more overtime for me,’ joked Greg.
Stacey replied: ‘Oh, there’s still going to be overtime for you!’
The couple, who have been together for most of their lives, did agree to maybe take a vacation.
‘Our kids… they are happy for us,’ Greg said. ‘But they do know Christmas is coming.’
While lottery players in the state can choose to stay anonymous, Stacey has not been shy about her winnings.
‘I like telling people,’ she said.
‘I went to the bank and asked to speak to the manager. I said, “You know somebody won $1million here in town? Well, that’s me!” She was super excited. It’s nice to celebrate.’
Stacey is the 10th Powerball player and 39th New Jersey Lottery player this year to win at least $1million this year.
Since her ticket did not match the Powerball number, the jackpot for the game is still roughly $130million.
Stacey won less than a month after a North Carolina master carpenter scored $1million from a scratch-off lottery ticket after using a $20 bill he found at a car park to play the game.
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