Ortiz spent the week on a winning streak, gambling for four straight days and nabbing prize after prize, KUSA-TV reports.
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Big Winners
James Bush, 50, of South Daytona, Fla. shown with fellow winner Glynn Shelfer, lays claim to $1 million after winning his third lottery. He bought the winning ticket at the Circle K in Port Orange, Fla.
Florida Lottery
Florida Lottery
Her windfall began on March 8, when she won $1,260 playing slots at the Century Casino in Central City, Colo. A day later, she bought a ticket for the Colorado Lottery's Free Ride Scratch game and won $500. The next day, she cashed in the winning ticket and bought 10 more Free Ride tickets along with a few other lottery and Powerball tickets.
Ortiz discovered she had a match with four of the five numbers, including the Powerball number in Wednesday's drawing. She opted for Power Play, which costs $1 extra. That gave her a multiplier of five, which bumped her original $10,000 prize up to $50,000.
"When things are down, something good always happens," Ortiz told KUSA. "I never expected this good."
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The chances of matching four numbers plus the Powerball number is one in 723,145, according to the Colorado Lottery Web site.
Ortiz, who has been living with her son since losing her job, said she plans to use her winnings to make a down payment on a new home.
She also plans to pay off her daughter's car and buy her daughter-in-law a used car.
"I'm a gambler and my husband is probably thinking 'Thank God, she finally got all her money back,'" Ortiz told KUSA.
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