A construction firm boss has split his USD 50,000 lottery jackpot with a worker after he promised her half of any win if she would check his numbers for him.

Michael Winfield, 58 – from Woodbine, Maryland state, USA – decided to play the lottery when he saw the jackpot “really climbing”.

Windfield told how he was so busy he asked a female worker going out to the shops to check his ticket.

And he told her: “I’ll spit the winnings with you.”

Newsflash obtained a statement from the Maryland State Lottery on Wednesday, 11th January, quoting Winfield as saying: “I only tend to buy tickets when I notice the jackpots start really climbing.”

He added: “Mega Millions was up in the USD 400 million [GBP 327.3 million] range, so I stopped at a 7-Eleven on the way home from a work site.”

The statement said: “While at 7-Eleven #11590 at 10594 Metropolitan Avenue in Kensington, he bought Mega Millions tickets in hopes of winning a USD 429 million [GBP 351.2 million] prize in the Dec. 16 drawing and purchased USD 10 [GBP 8] worth of quick-pick Powerball tickets for the Dec. 17 drawing.

“It wasn’t until several days later that Michael learned that Lottery luck had found him.”

Winfield said: “A co-worker of mine was about to head out to a nearby store to get some lunch.

“I asked her to check several Lottery tickets I’d had in my wallet while she was there.”

The Maryland Lottery said: “Among the tickets Michael’s friend scanned for him was, of course, the Powerball ticket worth USD 50,004 [GBP 40,938.27].”

The lucky winner said: “My phone happened to not be working that day, so when she called with the news she couldn’t reach me.

“When we finally got together at the office she was so excited….and I was just in disbelief.”

The statement said: “Asked if he regretted his promise, if he considered keeping the prize, Michael said, ‘Not for a second. My word is my word.'”