A kind stranger moved ahead of her in line at the grocery store, allowing an elderly lady named Gloria MacKenzie, who was 84 at the time, to win the greatest single Powerball jackpot in the game’s entire history. MacKenzie presently lives in Florida.
Because of this, MacKenzie is a multi-millionaire at this point, and she has been quite kind with the money that she has given to her children. However, she didn’t forget about herself, as seen by the fact that she just bought a property in Jacksonville, Florida, for 1.2 million dollars not too long ago.
Existence Before the Victory
Before relocating to Zephyrhills, Florida — a city that is known for being a popular destination for retirees — MacKenzie worked as a teacher in East Millinocket, which is located in the state of Maine. After the passing of her husband, Ralph, a World War II veteran, she relocated there on her own and began a new life there.
She rented a simple duplex that was gray in color at the time, and that was her place of residence. It was not very big, it had seen better days, and it was situated directly beside a cow field.
The Win That Will Change Your Life
MacKenzie was waiting in line at a Publix Supermarket to make her routine purchase of a single quick-pick Powerball ticket. It is important to remember that these tickets include numbers that have been produced at random. She never participated in picking her numbers and instead always purchased her tickets from this location.
The folks in front of her in line were so kind as to let MacKenzie cut in front of them, not realizing the potential implications this may have on their lives.
Later on, we find out that the polite folks who were in front of MacKenzie in line were really Mindy Crandell and her daughter, who is 10 years old and lives in Zephyrhills.
MacKenzie put a total of ten dollars into the Powerball jackpot by purchasing four further tickets before he won, bringing his total investment to 10 dollars. On Wednesday, May 19th, 2013, the Powerball numbers were revealed to the public. In order to avoid missing the announcement of the results, MacKenzie remained up late that night. She knew she had won as soon as the numbers were drawn, even before she looked at her ticket. She had a sixth sense about it.
MacKenzie, who was overcome with joy, wasted no time in getting in touch with a variety of attorneys and financial consultants, during which she posed questions to these professionals and completed the required documentation. The 5th of June was the day when MacKenzie finally decided to come forward and receive her reward. She wanted everything to be prepared far in advance.
On the day that she went to the Florida State lottery offices, she masked her identity by covering her face with a pair of huge black sunglasses, a pink shirt, and white slacks. MacKenzie clenched her fists around her son’s arm and flatly refused to answer any of the questions that the reporters who had surrounding them had to ask.
Due to the fact that MacKenzie was getting on in years, she was given the recommendation to accept the money all at once. This resulted in a total of roughly $371 million, which, after taking into account taxes, amounted to $278 million. She came to an agreement that the money would be divided with her son Scott, who was there on the day that she collected her award.
MacKenzie promptly moved out of her condo in Zephyrhills and went on to acquire a property in Jacksonville, Florida, for the price of $1.2 million. The home is located in a golf-centered gated community and is near to the location where her son now resides.
MacKenzie, who was a retired educator, had a genuine enthusiasm for education, which is why she gave $2 million to restore the roof of Schneck High School in East Millinocket, Maine. The school is located in East Millinocket. This school has a very significant meaning for her, not only because she worked there in the past, but also because her daughter is now working there as a High School Science teacher. This school has a very precious place in her heart.
Leave a Reply