The winner of a Powerball jackpot was named this week, and she told everyone her “secret” to winning.
Judy Finchum, of Clifton, Colorado, won a $133 million Powerball jackpot, CBS Denver reported on Monday,Sept. 18.
Finchum said that she’s been playing the exact same numbers for 30 years, ABC News reported.
“We stumbled down the hallway together and I said, ‘Now look at these numbers and look at the numbers on the ticket and are those the same?'” Finchum recalled. “My husband was Mr. calm and says, ‘Yes they are.'”
Her numbers were comprised of “birthday numbers.” The number 17 was for her brother, her own birth date, and 18 and 24 for her sister. The number 25 was for her ex-husband and 31 for her daughter.
“It’s hard to fathom,” she said of the money she’s taking home, adding that she is officially retired “as of about 6 o’clock on Sunday morning,” ABC reported.
The couple told CBS Denver that they’re both too old to take yearly payouts, instead opting for the cash option.
“I’ve worked all my life,” she added. “And it would be nice to learn what (not working) is like, it will.”
Her husband, Mack, said that he wants a new set of tires for his 1996 Ford truck. “I said ‘Well Mac, you could buy a new truck,’ he said ‘I don’t need a new truck, I like my truck. It’s just fine,'” Finchum said.
Her daughter, Carrie, also reacted to the news.
“As soon as I walked in her house, I saw the lottery page open, I saw the ticket sitting there, and all I had to say was ‘Was it you?'” Carrie told 9News. “And she said, ‘Yes.”
