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A Michigan woman is basking in her “beginner’s luck” after winning big-time in her state’s Lucky For Life lottery.
According to PEOPLE, 39-year-old Shayla Kauflin decided to purchase tickets for a recent Powerball drawing. While making the online purchase, Kauflin also bought “five Lucky For Life lottery tickets for the October 9 drawing.”
This was the first time Kauflin played the Lucky For Life lottery, but she casually thought, “Why not?”
“This ticket was the very first Lucky For Life ticket I have ever bought,” Kauflin explained, per PEOPLE. “When I was purchasing my Powerball tickets online, I saw the Lucky For Life game listed and thought: ‘Why not?’ and bought $10 worth of tickets.”
When Kauflin checked the winning numbers the next day, she noticed something life-changing. She explained that when she logged into her lottery account, she noticed $390,000 “pending.”
“I started screaming, crying, and freaking out!” Kauflin reportedly recalled.
The 39-year-old explained that she called her husband to inform him about the ordeal. However, her husband was “concerned at first because he thought something was wrong.”
According to the outlet, the Lucky For Life lottery’s grand prize is $25,000 for 25 years or a person’s lifetime — whichever time span happens to be longer.
However, instead of accepting the yearly payout, Kauflin reportedly elected to be paid a lump sum of $390,000.
The 39-year-old says the feeling of “winning is indescribable,” per USA Today. Additionally, her surprise fortune has taken the “weight of the world” off her shoulders.
“It feels like the weight of the world has been taken off my shoulders. It may not be enough money to change the world, but it’s enough money to change my world.”
Kauflin reportedly plans to invest the money and use a portion to treat her family to a Disney vacation.
According to USA Today, the odds of winning Michigan’s Lucky For Life lottery for a prize of $25,000 a year for life “are 1 in 1,813,028.” The odds of winning the grand prize of $1,000 per day “are 1 in 30,821,472.”
