A park ranger won a $29.5 million lottery jackpot while she was furloughed during the government shutdown

Judith Smith, of Bayonne, New Jersey, and her children, William Kenneth Smith and Sarah Jude Smith, were announced as lottery winners on Wednesday.They won the the $29.5 million jackpot on Dec. 17, 2018, but waited two months to pick up the winnings after consulting with lawyers and financial advisers.Judith Smith is a park ranger at Fort Wadsworth in Staten Island, New York, which closed with the government shutdown.She was out of a job four days after learning she had won the lottery on December 18.A park ranger who was furloughed during the government shutdown in December and January won a $29.5 million lottery jackpot in New Jersey.Judith Smith, of Bayonne, New Jersey, and her children, William Kenneth Smith and Sarah Jude Smith, were announced the winners of the $29.5 million Pick-6 Jackpot on Wednesday, according to a news release from the New Jersey Lottery.Smith, a park ranger at Fort Wadsworth in Staten Island, New York, bought the lottery ticket on December 17, five days before the recreational area was closed for the government shutdown.Read more: A lottery winner in Jamaica claimed their $1.2 million prize wearing a Scream mask to protect their identityThe shutdown kept Smith out of work until January 25.Smith learned of her winnings on December 18 at a self-check machine at a liquor store in Bayonne.The family sought legal and financial advice before publicly claiming the jackpot on Wednesday.Smith told lottery officials that she kept the lottery ticket in a "safe place" while speaking with her lawyers.The liquor store where Smith purchased her ticket, Eddy's Wine & Liquor, in Bayonne, New Jersey, will receive $10,000 for selling the winning ticket.Read more:A retired couple explain exactly how they used math skills and a lottery loophole to win $26 million in 9 yearsMan arrested on suspicion of stealing his roommate's $10 million winning lottery ticketA man won a $1 million lottery jackpot off a ticket he forgot he had purchased 2 months earlierThe winner of the $343 million Powerball jackpot in New York finally won after playing the same numbers for 25 yearsJoin the conversation about this storyNOW WATCH: Sea cucumbers are so valuable that people are risking their lives diving for them
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