Michigan Mega Millions Winner Plans To Open No-Kill Animal Shelter
PORT HURON (WWJ) - Friday the 13th turned out to be lucky for a 24-year-old Port Huron woman who picked that day's winning Mega Million ticket worth $66 million.
Coming forward to collect her prize on Thursday Kelsey Zachow said that — after buying a new house and car, taking care of family and a vacation or two — she plans to use the cash to open a no-kill animal shelter.
At a new conference, Zachow explained she didn't know she was a winner until 11 days after she bought the ticket.
"I checked it on my phone, and, yeah, I couldn't breathe," she said. "I was driving home, pulled in the driveway and ran our screaming. My boyfriend thought I had got in a car accident or hit someone on the street or something."
Zachow talked about calling an out-of-state aunt to break the news.
"Pretty much, 'Guess what?' — and the first was, 'You're pregnant,' or, 'What? You're engaged.' I'm like, 'No, no! Better, better than that!' Zachow said. "They coudn't think of anything...and everybody was just shocked. They were like, 'No, you didn't (win)! No, you didn't!' And I'm like, 'Yeah, I did...I did.'"
Opting for the lump-sum option, Zachow will receive around $37.9 million after taxes.