A lucky mom from New Jersey has won a one-in-a-million lottery jackpot. Despite receiving the wrong lottery ticket, she still won as much as $5 million.
New Jersey local Oksana Zaharov hit the jackpot on Tuesday, Jan. 2. Oksana was shopping in Manhattan where she originally asked the store clerk to give her a $1 scratch-off ticket for the New York Lottery but was given a $10-value ticket instead. Oksana couldn't have been more thankful for the human error of the clerk since she was apparently mistakenly given the winning lottery ticket.
Oksana also did not even considering buying the ticket and actually felt bad for the clerk handing her the wrong one since the difference in value was relatively big. She also admitted that she only used the lottery ticket as a bookmark before scratching it off after a couple of weeks.
"I never win anything. I was sure the ticket was fake. It wasn't until I brought it into the office that I knew it was for real," expressed Oksana. This made Oksana the 88th woman in the history of lottery to have won a prize exceeding the million-dollar mark.
With the said money she won from the lottery, Oksana plans to take her family to the Bahamas where they will get their much-needed rest and relaxation. Apart from this, she will also set aside some trust fund for her two children where they will be able to enjoy loan-free college education in the future. Oksana is set to receive her winnings in 19 annual payments worth $260,000 plus an additional payment of $60,000. After that, she will then receive an annual net payment of $172,068 for the rest of her life according to the New York Lottery.
Rest assured, Oksana and her family are now secured for the rest of their lives, thanks in part to the clerk who gave her the wrong lottery ticket.
