Barmaid wins Sh5.1 million after customer hands her lottery ticket as a tip

Barmaid wins Sh5.1 million after customer hands her lottery ticket as a tip. [Photo: Courtesy]

A barmaid won Sh5.1 million in a lottery after a kind customer gave her a ticket as part of his tip.

Taylor Russey, 33, was handed the Powerball card by one of her regulars at a bar in O'Fallon, Missouri, US, on October 18.

The man, who wants to stay anonymous, occasionally gives Ms Russey lottery tickets on top of a normal tip.

She was flabbergasted when she scanned her ticket at the bar's lottery machine the next day and found out she had won the huge prize.

The barmaid told the New York Post: "I kind of stood there for a second, looked at the cook and then looked at the ticket before I started laughing and then I started crying."

Ms Russey hopes to spend the money on dental work and has no intention of quiting her job at Bleacher's Bar, in part because she cannot live off her win.

She said the prize took a 'big hit' after taxes, however she is still delighted.

It comes after Martin Brandist, 54, and his 48-year-old wife Debbie, from Nuneaton, Warwickshire, won £1 million on the lottery.

They are now planning on buying a holiday home in Lanzarote, in the Canaries, after their triumph in the September 18 draw.

Taylor Russey won the lottery with a ticket given to her by a customer. [Mirror]

Mr Brandist, who has quit his job as an NHS manager, and his wife announced their win just days after marking their first wedding anniversary on Sunday.

The husband said he had been playing the National Lottery for 25 years with "the same numbers", but it was a free lucky dip which bagged the couple their winnings.