HUDSON COUNTY, NJ — Many furloughed federal workers in the National Park Service spent last holiday season worrying about how – and if – they were going to get paid during the government shutdown. But one lucky park ranger from New Jersey had a conundrum of different sorts on her hands… what to do with the largest Pick-6 lottery ticket sold in more than 10 years?

On Wednesday, NJ Lottery officials shared the story of Judith Smith of Bayonne – a ranger employed at the historic park site at Fort Wadsworth in Staten Island, New York – whose family bought the lucky ticket at Eddy’s Wine and Liquors on Avenue C for the Dec. 17, 2018 drawing.

Smith didn’t know it at the time, but she was about to become one of thousands of federal workers in New Jersey to endure weeks without a paycheck due to a partial government shutdown.

As rumors swirled about the coming shutdown, NJ Lottery officials announced the winning numbers for the Dec. 17 drawing: 09, 12, 15, 18, 27 and 34, with an XTRA Multiplier of: 03.

The prize? A jackpot worth $29.5 million in annuity payments… or $20.87 million in cash value.

After Smith sent her son to Eddy’s to double check if the ticket was a winner, the soon-to-be-furloughed park ranger knew that she and her family had to lawyer up. They then set off on a quest to find legal and financial advice before they filed a claim for the jackpot that would make them multi-millionaires, lottery officials said.

The ticket was put in a “safe place” while Smith’s family did their due diligence. But that doesn’t mean they didn’t check it… and check it again… and check it again, officials said.

Lottery officials knew the ticket had been scanned and the owner was aware this was the only winner for the $29.5 million jackpot. But from that point on, it was just a matter of waiting to meet the person who would come forward to file a claim.

The mystery was solved when officials named the winners of the gargantuan jackpot: Smith and her children, William Kenneth Lee Smith and Sarah Jude Smith.

Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site here. Send local news tips and correction requests to [email protected]

Main Photo: Shutterstock

Click Here: st kilda saints guernsey 2019