A BOEING worker hit the jackpot after buying a lucky ticket inspired by a “sign” from her job.
Becky Bell, from Washington, won the fifth-biggest jackpot in Powerball history after the jackpot hit $747 million (£620 million) just days after Boeing delivered its final 747 jumbo jet.
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The lucky winner said that she had already purchased a ticket on Sunday February 5 and saw that the prize had then reached a jaw-dropping $747 million.
This is when she realised that the company she works for had just delivered its last 747 jumbo jet that week.
“That’s when it hit me… I had to buy one more ticket,” she said.
The winning lady usually spends around £16 a week on lottery tickets, but this was a sign that she could not ignore.
Becky has worked for Boeing as a supply chain analyst for almost 36 years, and less than a week before the huge win, the company had delivered its 1,574th 747 jumbo jet to cargo carrier Atlas Air.
The 747 was the world’s first ever jumbo jet which was twice as big as any other airliner when it first flew in 1969.
Boeing delivered the last ever 747 aircraft after making the decision to focus production on newer, more fuel-efficient planes.
Atlas Air, the new owners of the last ever 747 aircraft, flew a special flight path as a final goodbye to the iconic plane’s production.
The crew flew over Washington state and drew a huge crown in the sky along with the numbers seven, four, seven.
Becky says she saw a story on the news the day after the draw which stated that the winning ticket had been sold in her area.
“That could be me”, she recalls thinking before she rushed out to a 6:20am meeting.
After the meeting she checked her numbers and was so stunned at what she saw, she had to call her son and two daughters to check and recheck them.
The woman ended up bagging a whopping £620 million jackpot and had a celebratory cake following the win.
“I’ve never won more than $20 in my life,” said Bell.
“So you can imagine my shock when I realised what had just happened. I just broke down and cried.”
The Fred Meyer store that sold the winning jackpot ticket said it would be giving their £41,500 bonus to the local food bank where it will provide around 66,000 meals to the community.
Kroger, the store owner, also gave £8,000 to the shop so they could throw their own employee party.
This follows the horror story of a man who lost his winning £3 million lottery ticket.
Unfortunately, due to technicalities he could not claim the prize and his life quickly spiralled out of control.
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