CNN
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A Kentucky woman brought home the best gift from an office gift exchange.
Lori Janes of Louisville won $175,000 after receiving a ticket at her office holiday party, according to a Kentucky Lottery press release.
On December 13th, Janes, Senior Manager and Treatment Coordinator at Harmon Dental Center, participated in a “white elephant” gift exchange at her office. The value of all gifts must not exceed $25.
Another participant “steals” a $25 TJ Maxx gift card that Janes received. Office managers who frequented TJ Maxx were disappointed, according to the release. But according to the rules of the gift exchange, she had to choose another gift—she chose a $25 scratch-off ticket from a colleague.
“Once it’s in my hands, it’s done and I’m keeping it,” Janes said in the release. “That’s when everyone told me to scrape them off.”
The first ticket earned Jane $50. But it was the second ticket that landed her the jackpot: $175,000.
The office was stunned by her win, according to a press release.
“Everyone is going nuts. People pull out their calculators and double check,” Janes said in the release. “Several people even scanned their tickets on the lottery app, just to be sure.”
“I couldn’t believe it,” she continued. “It was a $25 gift exchange and I won $175,000!”
Her husband and children also responded in disbelief at first. “We thought she was reading it wrong, but then we heard people in the background celebrating and it became real,” Janes’ husband told lottery officials, according to a press release.
That same day, Janes received a surprise holiday bonus of $124,250 after taxes.
“It’s crazy,” she said, according to a press release. “I’m really lucky.”
Janes plans to use the winnings to pay off her daughter’s student loans and car.
Janes isn’t the only winner: Convenience stores selling tickets will also receive $1,750.
According to the Kentucky Lottery, the odds of winning $175,000 in the “jackpot” game are one in 1.08 million.