The Government Shutdown Was Good...For This Park Ranger Who Won $29.5 Million Dollars Right Before Going On Furlough

ABC NY - A New York City park ranger from New Jersey who was furloughed during the partial federal government shutdown has claimed a $29.5 million lottery jackpot.

Judith Smith had purchased the winning Pick-6 ticket for the December 17 drawing just days before the shutdown closed the Fort Wadsworth recreation area in Staten Island.

The Bayonne resident and her two children put the ticket in a safe place while seeking legal and financial advice before claiming the jackpot.

What a turn of events for Judith Smith. One moment she’s staring down not getting paid, then she gets mega-super-massively-bigly paid. I really hope she quit her job as a park ranger, and just lives off of this for the rest of her life as there’s really no better time to say “fuck this place” than when you’re working and not actually getting paid for it.

It’d also be awesome if she had some major beef with somebody she worked with. I just imagine Judith keeping it quiet it for a little bit, and then the person she hates on the job is complaining about not getting paid then bam she pulls out the ticket and tells them it sucks to suck.

What a feeling it must be to see “File a claim, please see the clerk” when you’re checking an old ticket you bought the week prior. We’re so programmed on auto-pilot to see “Sorry, not a winner” that it doesn’t even seem like a possibility that something else like that can pop up.

But, anyways congrats to the Smith family. I hope you guys enjoy your winnings and get to live a nice comfortable life. However, you may want to read this Reddit thread on how fucked up people are after winning the lottery. Insane story, after insane story about how shitty things were after winning. Poor Mr. Whitaker.

P.S. – I also wish I could take credit for the winning ticket coming from a place called Eddy’s but I refuse to acknowledge any place that spells Eddie with a dumbass Y.