Bartender Wins $50,000 After Customer Unknowingly Tipped Her With a Winning Powerball Ticket

A bartender won $50,000 after a customer unknowingly tipped her with a winning Powerball ticket.

Taylor Russey was bought the ticket by a regular customer at Bleacher's Bar in O'Fallon, Missouri, on October 19, according to a news release.

When Russey came into work the next day, she found out the bar had sold a winning ticket after the bar's lottery terminal issued an alert.

Russey said she hadn't realized that she was in possession of the winning ticket at the time. "I was like, 'Guys, who won all this money and didn't tell anybody?'" she said.

Russey then remembered getting the ticket and scanned it at the terminal and found out she had won. Her ticket had matched four white balls and the Powerball in the October 19 draw.

She said it wasn't unusual for the customer who bought her the winning ticket to gift tickets to people who frequent the bar.

"One of the regulars will buy the rest of the regulars in the bar Lottery tickets every now and then, especially when it's high," Russey said.

Russey's ticket is the 40th one worth $50,000 sold in Missouri and the second in O'Fallon this year, Missouri Lottery said.

Russey's win comes after Thomas McIntyre won $100,000 after matching four white balls and the Powerball in the October 12 draw. He won twice as much as Russey thanks to the Power Play feature which doubled his winnings.

McIntyre, 64, of Belleville, Michigan, bought his winning ticket online. "Winning is an amazing feeling and gives me a feeling of safety for my future," he said.

Another Michigan man won an $80 million jackpot after matching all the winning numbers as well as the Powerball in the September 21 draw.

Phillip Chippewa, 54, said he now has enough money to support his family for generations to come.

"With seven children and 21 grandchildren, I've always said that I might not have the most money, but I am rich with family," he said. "Now, I have all the money I'll ever need and can help my family for generations. That means everything to me."

Chippewa chose to receive his winnings as a one-time lump sum amounting to $42 million after taxes. He bought the winning ticket at the Barrels & Barrels Party Store in Suttons Bay, which is about 20 miles north of Traverse City, Michigan.