DONIPHAN, AR — A Southeast Missouri woman wrapped up a big week by taking home a $1 million lottery prize during the record $600 million Powerball jackpot run.
Last week, Mary Jane Hart of Doniphan not only started a new job but also played the lottery and won twice. She first got $500, and then earned one million more on Saturday.
Hart works at the Hartland Pit Stop in Doniphan as a part-time cashier. She sold herself a Powerball ticket when she came into work Saturday because the jackpot had reached a record amount.
"I've always wanted to win a jackpot so that I could go to way more NASCAR races than I go to [now], which is a lot," she said.
Hart used the numbers of some of her favorite NASCAR drivers to fill out her Powerball ticket, which she checked only after getting a call from work.
"Someone had called me and told me that there was a winning ticket at the [Hartland Pit Stop]," she said, "so I went to the convenience store at Poplar Bluff and it said I was a winner."
Hart correctly matched all the numbers on her ticket to those drawn (10, 13, 14, 22, 52) except for the Powerball (11). She is now $1 million richer because of that luck.
"Nobody I know has ever won a million dollars," Hart said.
She plans to use some of her winnings to help out her son and also take a trip to Hawaii.
"That's a lifelong dream to want to go [to Hawaii]," she said. "I think I can do that now."
Some of Hart's coworkers at the convenience store say they're "ecstatic" that of all people, she won.
"It couldn't happen to a better person," said Cashier Sara Barfield. "[Hart] is a wonderful lady and a hard worker, so I'm glad to see it went to somebody deserving."
Despite winning the million dollar prize, Hart says she'll keep working at the convenience store and at her new job as a pharmacy technician, which she started a week ago.
"[My new boss] asked me I might be quitting, and I said no."
She also plans to keep playing the lottery, just as she has every week.
"Everybody needs to play the lottery," Hart said. "It's a proven fact that if you think you can't win, you can."
Thanks to imagine for the tip.
Congrats to Mary Jane!!
Congrats to Mary, enjoy!
Mary Jane works at a pharmacy,how fitting.Congratulations,Mary Jane!!
Congrats to Mary Jane!
Smart gal, too. $1m before taxes is not enough to retire on unless you are really close to retirement anyway.
Congratulations Mary
Lucky gal!
great story
Video report here
This report is inaccurate. The video for this story clearly shows the ticket is a QP, for both the first 5 numbers that she matched and the powerball that she missed.
Yea, I was wondering why they didn't mention 'the drivers numbers', as I could put these together for current drivers.
10 - Danica Patrick -
13 - Casey Mears
14 - Toney Stewart
22- Joey Lagano
52 - no current driver for 52
She might lied to over dramatize her story or
She bought another ticket and did pick her own numbers but didn't show it to news reporter or
The media completely misinterpreted her story
At any rate, LP should modify the original report
Ain't Keselowski driving the #52?
I found this story that is really different from the above version.
Hart hadn't realized that she had purchased the winning ticket until her ex-husband called her on Saturday. He informed her that a winning Powerball ticket had been sold at Hartland Pit Stop, the convenience store that Hart once owned for 25 years, and where she now works as a weekend cashier.
Hart told ABC News that she plays the lottery regularly, but has never won more than the $500 prize she received from a Quick Pick ticket the previous Friday. While she usually picks her numbers based on NASCAR drivers' numbers, she was in such a rush on Saturday that she selected quick pick numbers.
... Full article below.
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Cashier Sells Self $1M Ticket: Maryjane Hart, Doniphan, Mo., Woman, Sells Herself Winning Powerball Ticket
May 23 2013
A cashier in Doniphan, Mo., sold herself a $1 million lottery ticket, just one week after winning $500 off of a Pick 4 ticket.
Maryjane Hart, a 57-year-old convenience store cashier and pharmacy technician, won $1 million in last Saturday's $590 million Powerball jackpot, ABC News reports. Incredibly, she had sold the winning ticket to herself.
"We're just little common people here in a very poor community, so this has been a very big deal to everybody here," Hart said. "It's the buzz of the town."
Hart hadn't realized that she had purchased the winning ticket until her ex-husband called her on Saturday, ABC News. He informed her that a winning Powerball ticket had been sold at Hartland Pit Stop, the convenience store that Hart once owned for 25 years, and where she now works as a weekend cashier.
"I said, 'Well I had bought some tickets that morning,' and he said, 'Well, maybe you ought to check them,'" Hart told ABC News. The mother of three then drove to a local store to check her tickets, but still believed that her winnings were only worth $10,000. "I slung that ticket in my purse and got out of there before anybody saw it," she added.
Next, Hart stopped at a second store, where both she and the attending clerk recognized that her winning Powerball ticket was actually worth $1 million. After spending 30 minutes on the phone convincing her daughter, Nicki, that she had won, Hart drove to the state lottery office to claim her winnings on Monday morning.
"I still didn't believe it until we got to the lottery office and the guy started shaking his head and said congratulations," Hart said. "Then I knew it was real."
Hart told ABC News that she plays the lottery regularly, but has never won more than the $500 prize she received from a Quick Pick ticket the previous Friday. While she usually picks her numbers based on NASCAR drivers' numbers, she was in such a rush on Saturday that she selected quick pick numbers.
The 57-year-old is expected to receive a $710,000 direct deposit, the amount that she is owed after taxes. She told ABC News that she plans to use the money on a vacation, "just as quick as my boss will let me take a week." She also plans on spending some of the money on her children, especially her son, David, who suffered severe injuries in a car accident when he was 17. "Last week his Jeep wouldn't run so I had to take him to get groceries and run errands," Hart said. "I told him I plan on buying him a vehicle that will start every morning. He started crying."
...
Thanks now we know. The media misinterpreted or gave an incomplete story.
Nope, he has the 2 in Sprint Cup and the 22 in Nationwide.... I didn't cross-reference the other series, stuck with Sprint Cup.
I'm not sure I see anything that contradicts the original story, just some additional quotes. It is very common for news stories to be different from different sources. That's called an "angle".
Yes Todd, I'll go along with that ... it clears up the fact that the PB ticket was actually a "quick pick" that won and the article provided additional information and more detail ... like the fact that she actually owned the store at one point where she now works part time and some other things.
Probably I should have just said that I found an article with additional info that also may make a few things more clear.
...
Well, it certainly does contain some different small details, but I'm not sure what about it makes you feel their version of the story is correct. The author of this article is not even the originator of any of the facts. They are quoting "ABC News".
Well, you win the discussion ... I only follow Fox and the Drudge Report and none of the other networks since their news is shoddy at best. I can't remove that earlier post and will assume that my post was made up of unverified facts. I will go back to the first post and firmly believe that the lady actually did hit with numbers of some of her favorite NASCAR drivers.
Please remove my earlier post ... I do not like posting a false story or false information ... never intended to mislead anyone. I will plog on trying to hit my own jackpot one of these days.
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Congrats girl, I ain,t mad at you!
I think of Fox and Cnn the same way I think of a game show or a sit com, they are both just TV shows.
She got her dream. She was able to hit the jackpot and she can finally go to Hawaii. The good thing about her was that even though she have enough money because of the jackpot, she will still keep her job.
they say you can't play where you work here
You can play where you work, but you cant work where you play