OVER EXCITED: Woman Left Unable To Breathe After GBP 244,000 Lottery Win

A woman from the USA who won more than GBP 244,000 on the lottery scared her son to death when she nearly suffocated after calling him to share the good news. 

Renae Shelby, 56, poses with her lottery cheque, on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023. She bought the winning ticket at Khouris Market, located in Flint, Michigan. (Michigan Lottery/Newsflash)

Renae Shelby, 56, from the city of Flint, Genesee County, Michigan, USA, said she could not breathe after she realised she had just won USD 300,000 (GBP 244,716) on a scratch-off in January.

She reportedly purchased an Emerald Green Wild Time instant ticket at Khouris Market, located at 3239 Davison Road, after which she immediately called her son.

Shelby said in a statement obtained from the Michigan Lottery by Newsflash: “I always purchase my tickets from the same self-serve machine, and I call it my ‘lucky machine’.

“I had some winning tickets, so I cashed them at the machine and used my credits towards a few Emerald Green Wild Time tickets.

“I started scratching the tickets when I got in my car, and when I saw I’d won USD 300,000 [GBP 244,716], I was in shock!

“I called my son right away and he thought he was going to have to call 911 because I felt like I couldn’t breathe and could barely get my words out to tell him I’d won USD 300,000 [GBP 244,716].

Picture shows the store where Renae Shelby, 56, bought her winning ticket, located in Flint, Michigan, undated. Renae won $300,000. (Google Maps/Newsflash)

“It was so exciting!”

Some time later, the 56-year-old woman collected her prize from the Lottery headquarters in the city of Lansing and revealed that she plans to save it.

She said: “Winning this prize has opened new doors and will provide a lot of opportunities for me that weren’t previously there.”

Michigan Lottery officials revealed that the Emerald Green Wild Time instant game has earned lucky players more than USD 6 million (GBP 4,9 million) after it launched in December 2022.

They added: “Each USD 5 [GBP 4.08] ticket offers players a chance to win prizes ranging from USD 5 [GBP 4.08] up to USD 300,000 [GBP 244,716].

“More than USD 39 million [GBP 31,8 million] in prizes remain, including two USD 300,000 [GBP 244,716] top prizes, nine USD 25,000 [GBP 20,387] prizes, and 34 USD 2,500 [GBP 2,038] prizes.”

Michigan Lottery players reportedly won more than USD 1.8 billion (GBP 1.5 billion) playing instant games in 2021.

Tags: , ,