Friday the 13th was a mega lucky day for Kelsey Zachow.
But for 11 days, the 24-year-old Port Huron resident didn't know she had the winning $66-million Mega Millions lottery ticket — purchased June 13 at Sonny's Mart in Mt. Clemens — in her purse.
On June 24, the Mt. Clemens native and twice weekly lottery player checked her tickets at a gas station near her home. The clerk kept telling her, "You won big."
"I jumped in my car and locked the door. I couldn't breathe," Zachow said Thursday at a news conference at the Michigan Lottery regional office claim center in Sterling Heights. "I pulled in the driveway (at home) and got out screaming. My boyfriend thought I was in a car accident."
Instead, she's financially set for the rest of her life and doesn't have to work part-time as a medical assistant at a Macomb County hospital or as a part-time bartender at Little Lorraine's in Mt. Clemens.
Zachow is taking the money in a lump sum, which is nearly $27 million after taxes.
She plans to have the house of her dreams in the St. Clair County area, provide college money for the young children in her family, help relatives, take vacations (possibly Ireland, Europe and the Caribbean), go on a few shopping sprees and buy cars.
Next Monday, she said, she'll probably shop for an SUV. Then it's off to get an electric-blue Mustang GT convertible with dual exhaust and leather seats.
Zachow has a 7-month-old son, Benjamin Bartlett. Her boyfriend has a daughter, Evelyn Bartlett, 5. Zachow also has a brother, Gus Schmidlin, who is almost 2.
Sonny's Mart on Market Street, a lottery retailer since 2006, is to receive $50,000 for selling the winning ticket, lottery officials said. Zachow's prize is the largest won by a Michigan Lottery player on a Friday the 13th, they said.
Zachow said she has spent $5 every Tuesday and Friday for five years on the lottery.
On her way to work June 13, she bought five Mega Millions plays, four with her regular numbers and one easy pick. Her easy pick numbers of 07-38-46-49-56 and Gold Mega Ball of 01 matched the Mega Millions numbers drawn that night.
When she realized nearly two weeks later that she had won, the ticket went from her purse into a safe at a relative's house. She waited until Monday to turn in the winning ticket after talking with a lawyer and financial adviser.
Zachow said the most cash she had won prior to the June 13 prize was $50.
Now she can take care of her children and family, have a house with acreage and animals and possibly open a no-kill animal shelter.
Her boyfriend of three years, Billy Bartlett, 26, said she came barreling home "at 100 m.p.h." and screamed, "We won!"
After some checking, he said, "my jaw dropped to the floor."
Both Zachow and Bartlett, who has been laid off from construction work for about a year, said life hasn't changed since they realized Zachow won big.
Zachow said she may get the prize money this week.
"Then," she joked with reporters and family members, "people may start treating me differently."
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Thanks to Win$500Quick for the tip.
Congratulations, young lady. What an awesome win!
WTG.
4 of her regular lines and an easy pick...the easy pick is the winner !
Nice to see a quick pick win again.
WTG to her!
If I win and they ask me what I'll do with it, I'll say spend it. I won't get specific and mention how I'm going
to help everyone...I won't do that anyway. I think at any interview, the less you say, the better off you are.
It's a mistake to come off as giving and big hearted, there are too many vultures out there who aren't afraid
to ask for a buck.
Be careful winner, you have a long way to go.
Young and many years to enjoy her JP. That's terrific.
But don't go super-crazy on the spending. The younger you win, the more planning you'll need.
And, ASAP...take care of your son and little brother first thing with trusts that should last their lifetimes.
Congrats to Kelsey on her big win!
Congrats on the big win! Woo!!!!
She's been spendin $5 every Tuesday and Friday for the last 5 years. Luck was involved, but you also have to agree that she's also worked extra hard to win this. Congratulations Kelsey
Congrats!
She sure has a long list of things to buy. I have a sneaky suspicion that she forgot to mention the most important one.....a new boyfriend. She is now, the most eligible 24yr old in her town. Every creep with a sperm count will want a piece of that windfall. The boyfriend will now have to seriously man-up or chance fumbling her away. I hope somebody helps her keep those things in perspective. Congrats to her and her family.
Great SET FOR LIFE WIN!!! I also use the same stratedy a get my tickets twice a week and with my numbers and the quick picks ...
I call it God and Angel picks because they might know something I don't :)))
Have fun creating an amazing life...for her a yearly annunity would be a great choice it will protect her from naive/ Love/ Men/ Life mistakes until she comes into her OWN!
Congrats to the lucky winner. Zachow said she has spent $5 every Tuesday and Friday for five years on the lottery. This why you have to be in it to win. She never got frustrated and quit playing, even though she never won more than $50. I remember the couple on TLCML who said she played for 8 years and never won more than $17 and she continued to play. They won $105 million on a quick pick.
Face Palm! "didn't know she had the winning $66-million Mega Millions lottery ticket", chalk up another way to win. Why is there no face palm icon on here?
....because sooner or later folks are going to ask for ridiculous icons that would make no sense.No point in going down that slippery slope, yours does have some merit though....
I could see it being used for a story here where this guy drove around for two months with winning tickets mingled with trash on the backseat of his vehicle
* I added trash because he said he had not cleaned his vehicle for two months....ergo- trash on backseat.
Nice win, but way too young to stop working completely.
IMHO
Guess the odds was with her! What 1 in 259 million!! Lucky girl, congrats! spend it wisely!
It's true that between the boyfriend angle and stuff like this ---"Next Monday, she said, she'll probably shop for an SUV. Then it's off to get an electric-blue Mustang GT convertible with dual exhaust and leather seats"---this story could have 'legs'.
Again, hoping she keeps the spending under control and provides for that son, first and foremost. It's a great age to win, providing you do it the right way.
She can always Dump the boyfriend- that's an option, right?
if she invests wisely- she will be fine, it's gonna take a lot of will power to say "No" to all the so called friends that will come calling, and calling they will especially those who will say they have fond memories of sharing a lunch or two in "kindergarten".
Plenty sharks circling as well. Good luck to you and your family Miss.
Congrats to her, sounds like she's ready to spend , enjoy.
Its often said that the person should get the Spending bug out of their system so they can sit down and concentrate on what to do with the excess funds. Nothing wrong with doing a spending splurge. She might well need all those things. She is at the material phase of life...which some folks don't grow out of ....
With having a child, she will need to step up and be even more responsible.
She deserves good supportive people, may she have that thru life.
Not a fan of her comment " now people will treat her different", how sad that money would change people . Just curious if you can buy genuine kindness ? If so how much does it cost? I don't think I've seen it on sale anywhere? *wink*
Congratulations, Ms. Zachow! May you enjoy life and your new found riches!
I believe that is the same amount that David Lee Edwards won, so I guess the answer to your question is "Yes. You can."
They have been dating for 3 years and have a child together so unless their relationship was extremely stressful to begin with I would see no reason she would dump him.
Good eye! $27 million was the same amount David Edwards received after taxes. Hi annuity share of the $295 million jackpot which was split 4 ways was over $74 million with the cash value being over $41 million before taxes.
Congratulation Kelsey....
So she is single.. and has a boyfriend?
HMM interesting
Kelsey...crongrats to you and your family...enjoy your many years of wealth and prosperity !!!
While I am sure she has to give up a few more millions to Uncle Sam, she should still have at least 20 million left. Invest 90% wisely take 10% to purchase home and toys....Live comfortably off the 3-5% interest and enjoy your time with your children.
Another quick pick wins again..I LIIIIIIKE IT !!!!
Smart move for her age. I didn't know what the lottery was in my twentys.
Good advice.
Congratulations Kelsey.
Just beware of people who want to spend your money for you.
You can lose friends by giving and/or not giving. It's a funny situation.
Those you give to sometimes forget you gave or want more.
Those you don't give to will hate you.
But, I hope you don't have friends or RELATIVES like this.
Buying toys like Mustangs and houses is good. But her first mature priority would be to hire a financial adviser and to set up a plan and budget. Go a little crazy after the priorities are set. I've read so many stories of winners who won far more then her and due to their immaturity just spent it all.
That's what I'm thinking also Friends and Family it could happen so fast by all the things she's already saying
I dont think she'll have any problems folks. She seems to love that little baby and he's gonna be the most spoiled little boy in the world now and now she get to do what every working mom would love to do.....spend all her time raising her kid and not worry about how to pay for college and life in general. I really love to see single mothers win the lottery
27 millions and the check says 66 millions.
In x years the money is worth half due to inflation.
Drenick1- l posted that " with tongue in cheek".
That's him in the background showing affection for their child and that's all good.
Be well.
Hitch this to my post above..
Each one of you disappoints me. How come this thread hasn't turned very negative yet is beyond me. Let's talk about Common Law marriage. Does the boyfriend have those emails and recorded statements to back up his Common Law claim back on their neck of the woods? Can he claim part of the loot after three years together? That's a coming! That year off I'm sure has been getting on somebody's nerves.
To my knowledge Michigan doesn't do/recognize common law marriage so this wouldn't apply. Even if they did it's not a community property state so he probably wouldn't get much if any of the winnings.
Giving a 24yr old $27M cash, is like giving a 5yr old, a loaded gun and a fifth of Jack. Sooner or later, something is gonna get blasted. She needs all the help she can get from real financial professionals.
This is a discussion forum One-Day, so get used to disappointment
. You come across as a concerned citizen... but l hate giving bad news!
She may surprise us all MPM- don't rain on her parade, not all 24 year olds are idiots with money.
I gotta give her congrats on this one. I like seeing younger people and single moms win.
I hope she realizes that at 24, $27 million isn't a whole lot of $ when it has to last you for the rest of your life.
you guys are so funny
poor Kelsey i hope she never reads these threads
When is a $27 million isn't a whole lot of money.
....You must have a government job.
Congrats girl, congrats Michigan. Enjoy yourself!!!!
Most people have less tan 10k liquid in a bank account at the age of 65, so your logic isn't valid. This money handeled correctly may possibly last 2 generations.
Reading these threads, might actually help her avoid being a victim, to some of the plights, that befall the uninformed lottery jackpot winners. It's education LP STYLE.
Money is power, like alcohol, it can be very intoxicating. You can use it as a tool to do a lot of good, or you can use it as a weapon to do a lot of evil, and even destroy yourself. Just keep in mind that there is a very fine line between a tool and a weapon, and both can be interchangeable depending on one's intentions.
"Her boyfriend of three years, Billy Bartlett, 26, said she came barreling home "at 100 m.p.h." and screamed, "We won!"
The boyfriend is no fool. "WE WON" means 50/50 if you try to pull a fast one.
He can say "We Won" all he wants, but typically it's not "we" more so then it is "she". Since they aren't married. I don't think he's eligible for half the money. Now the question is, will she have him sign a prenup or will she ever agree to marrying him knowing that if they divorce, it's splitsville in more ways then one.
Just found out someone in my old town won One million dollars in Illinois ......
why he/she didn't play one more dollar to win $2 million dollar ......8/2/2014
"We? What do you mean 'we?'"
Congratulations. Now change your phone number, because long lost cousins will come out of the woodwork!!!