Imagine sitting at your desk for 32 years. You’re a mother of two, working a clerical job in the nursing department at Mercy Medical Center. You’re 53, and you’ve got about 12 more years of the grind before you can even think about putting your feet up. Then, on a random Wednesday in August 2017, you walk into a Pride Station & Store in Chicopee, Massachusetts, and buy a few Powerball tickets.
Most of us do it. We buy the ticket, we have the "pipe dream," and then we go back to work. But for Mavis Wanczyk, the dream didn't just come true—it exploded. She didn't just win a couple of million. She hit a $758.7 million jackpot. At the time, it was the largest single-ticket win in the history of the United States.
Honestly, the moment she realized she won is the stuff of legends. She was leaving work with a colleague—a firefighter—who looked at her ticket and told her she’d won. She couldn't even drive herself home. He had to follow her to make sure she didn't crash from the sheer shock of it all.
The Immediate Aftermath of the Win
The very next day, Mavis did what every person stuck in a cubicle has fantasized about. She called her boss. She didn't ask for a leave of absence. She didn't give two weeks' notice. She basically said, "I’m not coming back."
That’s a bold move. Most financial advisors tell you to wait. They tell you to stay quiet, hire a legal team, and disappear into the shadows before you even think about claiming the prize. Mavis? She went the opposite way. She showed up at a press conference less than 24 hours after the drawing.
She stood there, chewing gum, looking a mix of terrified and ecstatic. "I just wanted to get it over and done with," she told the world. She hoped that by coming forward quickly, the media frenzy would die down faster.
🔗 Read more: Chuck E. Cheese in Boca Raton: Why This Location Still Wins Over Parents
It didn't.
The Financial Reality: Lump Sum vs. Annuity
When you win that kind of money, you have a massive choice. Take the full $758.7 million spread over 30 years, or take the cash up front.
Mavis chose the lump sum.
- The Gross Amount: $480.5 million.
- The After-Tax Reality: About $336 million.
Think about that. In one afternoon, her net worth became higher than the GDP of entire countries like Micronesia or Palau. It’s a level of wealth that is almost impossible to wrap your head around. You go from worrying about a car payment—she had just bought a Chrysler 200 the year before—to being able to buy a fleet of private jets.
Why Mavis Wanczyk Became a Target for Scammers
If you’ve spent any time on Facebook or Instagram lately, you’ve probably seen her face. Not because she’s posting, but because scammers love her. Since she came forward so publicly, her name has become synonymous with "free money" in the eyes of internet predators.
💡 You might also like: The Betta Fish in Vase with Plant Setup: Why Your Fish Is Probably Miserable
Criminals set up fake accounts using her name and photo, claiming she is "giving away $50,000 to the first 1,000 people who message her." It’s all fake. Every bit of it.
Even now, in 2026, these scams are still circulating. They use her story because it feels relatable. She was a "normal" person, and people want to believe that a normal person would share the wealth. But the reality is that the real Mavis Wanczyk went "underground" almost immediately after that first press conference.
Security Concerns and the Price of Privacy
Chicopee police had to park cruisers in her driveway for days. People were wandering through her neighborhood, knocking on neighbors' doors, trying to find out where the "lottery lady" lived.
It gets darker, too. Her ex-husband, William Wanczyk, had been killed in a tragic hit-and-run just a year before she won. The media dug into every corner of her life. They found her old Facebook posts where she joked about needing a vacation on a beach with rum.
Suddenly, that joke wasn't a joke anymore. But the price of that vacation was her anonymity. She told reporters, "I want to be just me, and just be alone." That is a lot harder to achieve when the entire world knows you have $336 million sitting in the bank.
📖 Related: Why the Siege of Vienna 1683 Still Echoes in European History Today
Where is Mavis Wanczyk Now?
You won't find her on TikTok. She isn't doing "day in the life" vlogs of a multi-millionaire. By all accounts, Mavis has successfully transitioned into a private life.
There are rumors, of course. Some say she moved out of Massachusetts; others say she stays close to her adult children. What we do know is that she hasn't been back to the hospital. She took that "early retirement" and actually kept it.
The most interesting thing about her story isn't the money—it's the restraint. After that one public appearance, she vanished. In an era where everyone wants to be famous, she chose to be rich and invisible.
Lessons for the Rest of Us
Winning the lottery is statistically impossible ($1$ in $292,201,338$ for the Powerball), but Mavis's experience offers some real-world wisdom if you ever find yourself holding a winning ticket:
- Don't rush to the podium. Mavis wanted it "over with," but her public appearance made her a permanent target for identity theft and scams.
- The "Lump Sum" isn't always what it seems. Losing nearly $400 million to taxes and the cash-out penalty is a bitter pill, even if you’re left with hundreds of millions.
- Privacy is the ultimate luxury. The first thing she bought wasn't a mansion; it was peace and quiet.
If you see a post from "Mavis Wanczyk" offering you a grant, report it. The real Mavis is likely exactly where she said she wanted to be: sitting back, relaxing, and finally living that pipe dream far away from the cameras.
Actionable Steps for Aspiring Winners (and Everyone Else)
If you’re playing the lottery or managing a sudden windfall, there are a few things you should do immediately to protect yourself.
- Sign the back of the ticket. In many states, that ticket is a "bearer instrument." Whoever holds it, owns it.
- Consult a tax attorney before claiming. You need a shield between you and the public. In some states, you can claim through a blind trust to keep your name out of the headlines.
- Lock down your social media. If you win, your "friends" list will grow by thousands in minutes. Set everything to private before you even call the lottery office.
- Never pay to receive a prize. If someone claiming to be a winner like Mavis asks for a "processing fee" to send you a donation, it is a scam. Period.
Managing wealth is a full-time job. Mavis Wanczyk did the hard work of 32 years at a hospital; now, her only job is protecting the fortune she won in a single afternoon.