Woman wins $175,000 lottery prize at office gift exchange party

Dec. 22 (UPI) -- A Kentucky woman won $175,050 from scratch-off lottery tickets she received as part of a gift exchange at a company holiday party.

Lori Janes. of Louisville. told Kentucky Lottery officials she and her co-workers from the Harmon Dental Center were having a white elephant gift exchange when she lost her first pick, a $25 TJ Maxx gift card, and ended up with $25 worth of scratch-off lottery tickets.

"Once it got to me, it was done and mine to keep. That's when everyone was telling me to scratch them off," Janes said.

Janes' first ticket put her off to a good start with a $50 prize, and the second, a $10 Hit The Jackpot ticket, revealed a $175,000 top prize.

"Everyone was going insane. People were getting their calculators out and double-checking. A couple of people even scanned the ticket on the lottery's app, just to make sure," Janes said.

"I couldn't believe it. It was a $25 gift exchange, and I won $175,000!"

Janes called her family, but they were initially skeptical.

"We figured she didn't look at it right, but then we heard people in the background celebrating, it became real," the winner's husband told lottery officials.

Janes said the prize will allow her to pay off her daughter's student loans and her family's cars.

"This is so crazy. I'm truly blessed," she said.