Michigan Powerball winner had 'bad night' before checking numbers

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Tuesday, October 6, 2015
Michigan lottery winner comes forward
Michigan lottery winner comes forwardJulie Leach said she was having a bad night before she checked her lottery ticket.

THREE RIVERS, Mich. -- Julie Leach of Three Rivers, Michigan, was having a "bad night" at her third-shift job when she decided to check her lottery ticket at a McDonald's drive-thru. It ended up being not such a bad night after all.

Leach, 50, won a $310.5 million Powerball jackpot. The mother of three and grandmother of 11 said she was in "disbelief" when she saw the numbers.

She quickly quit her "nasty, dirty" job at a Michigan fiberglass factory, and said she plans to build houses for her family in Michigan.

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Leach chose the lump sum of $197.4 million, which is about $140 million after taxes.

Her lottery prize is Michigan's second-largest one.

Meet the lucky winners of the largest lottery jackpots in U.S. history

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