Black Woman Wins $25M Lottery Prize, Hides Ticket And Goes On Vacation

A Massachusetts woman has won a $25 million lottery prize. Before collecting her winnings, she hid her ticket and went on vacation.

Desiree Fortini-Craft of Massachusetts plans on having a “really good Christmas” after taking home the third grand prize from a scratch-off lottery ticket totaling $25 million. CBS News reports that the woman hid her winnings and treated herself to a vacation in Aruba before claiming her new fortune.

Fortini-Craft seems to have a golden touch, as she previously took home a $1 million prize in 2006. This time, she opted for a one-time payment of over $16 million before taxes, which she collected at the Massachusetts Lottery headquarters.

“She said that they want to enjoy life, they are hard workers, and they plan on having a really good Christmas in Aruba,” the lottery reports. “She added that she plans to use some of her winnings to pay off student loans for her three daughters, make some big family purchases, and buy a new car.”

The lottery continues to give away big bucks as part of its Billion Dollar Extravaganza, the most expensive scratch-off competition the state offers, with seven $1 million prizes and four $2 million purses still available to be claimed. Two other winners took home $25 million prizes alongside Fortini-Craft. CBS reports that 17 million tickets have been bought thus far, bringing in an estimated $850 million.

In November, a Michigan man awoke to find himself a newly minted millionaire. The 62-year-old man bought a $1 ticket that netted him $3.4 million in winnings, according to The Miami Herald.

“I logged in to my account late one night and saw $3.4 million pending, and realized I must have won the Lotto 47 jackpot. I was so excited I woke my wife up to tell her the news. She was frantic and thought something bad had happened until I showed her the prize amount pending in my lottery account. It was such a surreal feeling, and we were both in shock,” the man said.

RELATED CONTENT: Joe Smith Discusses Wasting $61M NBA Fortune