( CNN ) -- Somewhere , someone is kicking themselves for being nice to a little old lady . Gloria Mackenzie , 84 , came forward to claim the second-largest U.S. lottery jackpot , more than two weeks after the $ 590.5 million Powerball drawing on May 18 , Florida Lottery officials announced Wednesday . She passed up a payout spread over 30 years for a somewhat smaller one-time lump sum , pocketing $ 370.9 million before taxes , Lottery Secretary Cynthia O'Connell said . Mackenzie bought her winning ticket at a supermarket in Zephyrhills , north of Tampa . She did not appear at Wednesday 's announcement , but in a statement O'Connell read to reporters , she said it was the fifth ticket she 'd purchased for that drawing . `` While in line at Publix , another lottery player was kind enough to let me go ahead of them in line to purchase the winning quick-pick ticket , '' Mackenzie said . Eyeing Powerball jackpot ? You have a better chance of death by lightning . `` We are grateful for this blessing of winning the Florida Lottery Powerball jackpot and appreciate the interest of the public , the state of Florida and the lottery . We hope that everyone will give us the opportunity to maintain our privacy for our family 's benefit . '' The amount of the prize ballooned to $ 590 million as the drawing approached , with Florida lottery officials selling about $ 45,000 worth of tickets an hour at the peak . That total was surpassed only by a $ 656 million Mega Millions drawing in March 2012 , split among winners in Illinois , Kansas and Maryland . Why you keep playing the lottery . Mackenzie was accompanied by her son , a `` trusted family friend and her legal and financial advisers '' when she came in to the lottery 's Tallahassee headquarters to get her winning ticket validated , O'Connell said . She said Mackenzie waited `` to make sure they were ready to handle the types of responsibility that come with that kind of a jackpot win . '' CNN 's Joe Sutton and John Couwels contributed to this report .
Winner : someone made her walk ahead of them to a ticket . Gloria Mackenzie , 84 , claims second - biggest prize purse . She 'll win $ 370.9 million in a one - time , pre - tax payout .