84-year-old woman scoops $590.5m in Florida lottery

An 84-year-old woman has scooped $590.5 million in the Florida Powerball lottery - after a stranger allowed her to cut in front of them in the queue.

Gloria MacKenzie from Zephyrhills bought the only $2 lottery ticket that matched all six winning numbers in the May 18 multi-state Powerball draw, making her the largest sole jackpot winner in US lottery history. Her odds of winning were one in 175 million.

She has chosen to take a lump sum of nearly $371 million, rather than collecting the total sum in 30 annual payments, lottery officials said.

Ms MacKenzie wore dark sunglasses and linked arms with her son, Scott, as she walked past the news cameras, following news of her win. She left the lottery office without saying anything but left behind a statement to be read on her behalf:

Florida Lottery Secretary Cynthia O'Connell held a news conference at the state lottery headquarters in Tallahassee following the jackpot win:

The 84-year-old said she and her son had an agreement to split any winnings. She bought the winning ticket at a Publix grocery store after previously buying four other tickets, her statement said.

The winner's name had to be revealed under Florida law, but the recipient had no obligation to publicly acknowledge the prize, lottery officials said.

The winning numbers were: 10, 13, 14, 22 and 52, with a Powerball number of 11.

The grand prize in the May 18 draw had accumulated over two months, and surpassed the previous record Powerball payout of $587.5 million set in November 2012.