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School teacher stunned after seeing huge lottery prize. Then asks son, ‘Is this real?’

A Virginia school teacher won a Marvelous Money: Vegas Nights jackpot while playing on her phone, lottery officials say.
A Virginia school teacher won a Marvelous Money: Vegas Nights jackpot while playing on her phone, lottery officials say. Getty Images/iStockphoto

While riding shotgun with her son recently, Hazel Walker was passing time playing Virginia Lottery games on her phone.

That’s when she realized she had won a $240,040 jackpot while playing Marvelous Money: Vegas Nights, lottery officials said in a May 11 news release.

Hazel Walker said she doesn’t have any immediate plans for her prize.
Hazel Walker said she doesn’t have any immediate plans for her prize. Virginia Lottery

“I just stayed quiet for a while,” Walker told officials. “When we stopped, I showed it to my son and said, ‘Is this real?’”

Walker, who is a school teacher from Virginia Beach, said she doesn’t have any immediate plans for her prize.

“I just need to let it sink in,” she told officials.

Many people can gamble or play games of chance without harm. However, for some, gambling is an addiction that can ruin lives and families.

If you or a loved one shows signs of gambling addiction, you can seek help by calling the national gambling hotline at 1-800-522-4700 or visiting the National Council on Problem Gambling website.

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Moira Ritter
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Moira Ritter covers real-time news for McClatchy. She is a graduate of Georgetown University where she studied government, journalism and German. Previously, she reported for CNN Business.
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