Pick 6 Jackpot for Park Ranger After being Furloughed in Government Shutdown

2018 had a dramatic ending for Judith Smith from New Jersey, USA. December 17 saw her win a fantastic $29.5m Pick 6 jackpot and then four days later ended up without a job due to the US Government shutdown.The lucky winner works as a ranger with the National Park Service at Ford Wadsworth in Staten Island, New York. With talk of a possible US Government shutdown, she faced an uncertain financial future. However, the December 17 Pick 6 draw changed all of that.The Pick 6 jackpot was $29.5m, the highest since 2004 and finally, the draw produced a winner. Just the one ticket matched 09-12-15-18-27-34 to scoop the fantastic prize.

Big Discovery

The following day, it was announced that the Pick 6 jackpot had been won by a ticket sold at Eddy’s Wine and Liquors in Bayonne, New Jersey. That got the ranger thinking as she’d purchased her Pick 6 ticket from that store.It wasn’t Judith who rushed to the store to find out if she was the big winner. Instead, she sent her son William who had bought the ticket using her mother’s money. "I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me," he said after discovering the ticket had won the Pick 6 jackpot.

Good Advice Sought

On hearing the news, his mother quickly put her winning ticket in a safe place, so it wasn’t lost and regularly checked it. Then she got in touch with lawyers and financial advisers for help on how to safely claim her prize. It wasn’t until January 17 that the Pick 6 jackpot was finally claimed.

A Little Fun

The family will receive $14m after taxes and both of her children, William and Sarah, will be given $3.5m. They plan to pay off their credit cards and take a trip to Italy. Judith plans to buy a house in Florida so she can see more of her daughter. Their main aim is to “take care of their family and have a little fun.” Judith doesn’t plan to quit her job after returning to work on January 25.

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