Mom wins huge lottery prize in Michigan, and her son thought he might have to call 911

The first thing Renae Shelby did after winning a huge lottery prize in Michigan was call her son.

But she was so excited that she nearly panicked him into calling 911, according to a Feb. 2 news release from the Michigan Lottery.

The 56-year-old woman from Flint said she had bought her winning Emerald Green Wild Time instant game ticket from a self-serve machine at Khouri’s Market.

“I always purchase my tickets from the same self-serve machine, and I call it my ‘lucky machine,’” Shelby told lottery officials. “I had some winning tickets, so I cashed them at the machine and used my credits towards a few Emerald Green Wild Time tickets.”

One of those scratch tickets was worth $300,000.

“I started scratching the tickets when I got in my car, and when I saw I’d won $300,000, I was in shock,” she said in the release. “I called my son right away and he thought he was going to have to call 911 because I felt like I couldn’t breathe and could barely get my words out to tell him I’d won $300,000. It was so exciting!”

Having calmed down, the mom recently went to claim her winnings.

After taxes, she took home $215,250.

Shelby plans to save her prize money, according to the release.

“Winning this prize has opened new doors and will provide a lot of opportunities for me that weren’t previously there,” she said.

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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