A woman who won $ 1million off a scratch-off lottery ticket given to her in a birthday card from a friend plans to share her earnings with her friend 's family . Theresa Dybalski , a retired insurance company from Lackawanna , New York , was celebrating at a birthday lunch when she received the ticket . Her friend who gave it to her , however , has died since Dybalski 's birthday . So she plans to share her winnings with family members of her friend , who has not been named . Theresa Dybalski , a retired insurance company from Lackawanna , New York , won $ 1million off of a $ 5 scratch off lottery ticket . The ticket was given to her by a friend during a lunch celebrating Dybalski 's birthday . The friend has since died , so Dybalski plans to share her winnings with the friend 's family . 'She was a kind , sweet , loving lady who would bend over backwards to help you out . Hopefully she 's present here as I am receiving this great reward , ' she said of her friend , according to AOL . It was n't until she scratched off the last box in the last row that she realized that she saw her number matched and saw the word `` Jackpot ' . Dybalski received a lump-sum payment of $ 522,822 after taxes last month . Other than sharing with her friend , she plans to address ' a couple of issues around the house ' , she told Buffalo News . Dybalski received a lump-sum payment of $ 522,822 after taxes from her $ 1million winnings last month . She plans to share her earnings as well as address ' a couple issues around the house '
Theresa Dybalski , of Lakawanna , New York , was given the lottery ticket inside a birthday card from a friend . Her friend who gave her the card died shorty after she won . She received a lump-sum payment of $ 1million after taxes last month . Dybalski plans on sharing the money with her and her friend 's family and plans to address ' a couple issues around the house '