Woman opts out of Powerball pool, but co-workers give her cut anyway

Imagine you work in a small office. A group of co-workers asks if you'd like to go in on some Powerball tickets. You decline. You're on a tight budget, and you've only been there a few weeks, anyway.

You show up for work the next day to find out they won.

That's exactly what happened to Jennifer Maldonado, an administrative assistant at Keller Williams Partners Realty in Plantation, Fla., whose co-workers matched five numbers in Saturday's $338 million Powerball drawing, winning $1 million.

Co-worker Laurie Finkelstein Reader bought 120 tickets—or $240 worth—at a Mobil gas station in Pembroke Pines after collecting $20 from nearly everyone in the office. According to the Miami Herald, Reader offered to lend Maldonado the money since she hadn't received her first paycheck, but Maldonado said no thanks.

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When Maldonado showed up for work, "everyone was there, screaming, jumping, running, hugging, crying," according to the paper.

“I knew I was the only one who hadn’t put in the money, so I thought they were pranking me,” Maldonado said.

It wasn't a prank—and, even better, Maldonado's co-workers plan to share their winnings, roughly $83,333 per person after taxes, with her.

"It’s about sharing the happiness," Reader said.

One person who doesn't have to share: Pedro Quezada, a 45-year-old Dominican immigrant and Passaic, N.J., deli owner, who bought the lone $338 million winning Powerball ticket.