US police tighten security to protect $758 million lottery winner

US police are actively patrolling around the home of the woman who won a record $758.7 million Powerball lottery jackpot.

The Powerball lottery in the US on August 23rd drew a jackpot of 758.7 million USD, the second largest in the history of the lottery. Mavis Wanczyk, 53, from Massachusetts, was the only winner. Since then, local authorities have had to increase security in the area where Wanczyk lives in the city of Chicopee to ensure her safety, AP reported yesterday.

“This is a great thing,” said Officer Michael Wilk, a Chicopee police spokesman. “We want her to know that we are there if she needs us.”

Wilk said police were keeping a close eye on the situation. They even posted guards on some of the streets around Wanczyk’s home because of the media and the influx of strangers. Police asked Wanczyk’s neighbors to report anything suspicious.

According to Mr. Wilk, the police also received reports of people loitering around the area looking for Ms. Wanczyk. "In addition to the media, there were countless people knocking on doors asking where she lived," Wilk said.

Wanczyk quit her job on August 24 after learning she had won the lottery. She has worked at Mercy Medical Center for 32 years. When asked how she planned to celebrate, Wanczyk said she would "hide in bed."

Wanczyk picked the numbers, which included family birthdays, and bought the ticket at a convenience store in Chicopee. She decided to take the lump sum, about $480 million before taxes.

Powerball called the Aug. 23 drawing "the largest jackpot ever won by a single ticket and the largest prize ever awarded to an individual." The winning numbers were 6, 7, 16, 23 and 26, with Powerball 4.

The record-breaking Powerball jackpot was $1.6 billion, drawn in January 2016. It was split between three ticket holders in California, Florida and Tennessee, who each took home $528.8 million.

The Powerball lottery is played in 44 US states, Washington DC, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. A Powerball ticket costs $2. Players choose five numbers from a range of 1 to 69. The sixth number, called the Powerball, is chosen from another range of 1 to 26.

The player whose 6 numbers match the result wins. The prize will be divided equally if there are multiple winners. The winner can choose to receive the entire prize over 30 years or a lower amount if they want to receive it all at once.

According to VNE