Elizabeth Johnson bought her Powerball ticket on May 19, intending to play in that day's lottery drawing.
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However, she bought her ticket too late. Her numbers were accepted at 9:58 p.m.--one minute after the deadline for the 10 p.m. drawing.
Therefore, her numbers did not count toward the May 19 drawing--and it's a lucky thing too.
Her numbers counted toward the May 22 drawing, and they matched all five white balls. Hitting that 1 in 292 million chance meant she had won a $2 million jackpot.
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"It was definitely a shock!" Johnson said. "When I got the message saying that I had won I thought, 'Well, I didn't even play tonight.'"
After taxes, Johnson pocketed $1,415,001. Not a bad return on a $3 lottery ticket.
She said she plans to use the money to buy a house and take her kids to Disneyland.