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WEST QUINCY, MO. -- When Ellen Kathman bought a ticket for the Jan. 25 Powerball jackpot of $120 million, little did she know that she might win a trip to anywhere in the world as part of the Missouri Lottery’s “Go Anywhere Getaway” promotion.

It was just coincidence that put her inside the store during a Sunday stop for gas on the way to the family farm in Missouri. The Quincy, Ill., woman said the Powerball jackpot prompted her to add a ticket to her purchase at Ayerco, 8800 Highway 24, in Taylor.

“I paid cash for my gas, and I went into the gas station,” explained Kathman. “I usually only buy them (Powerball tickets) when it gets to be a certain amount. I didn’t know about the special drawing either, until the lady gave me the ticket and explained what it was.”

Kathman ended up with the winning Bonus Raffle ticket in the first drawing of the “Go Anywhere Getaway” promotion, conducted on Jan. 23. She won the grand prize of a trip for two to anywhere in the world, valued at $12,000, but she didn’t know it yet. In fact, she almost threw her ticket away when she learned no one won the Powerball jackpot.

“I heard that the winner was in West Quincy on the radio, and that nobody had claimed it yet. I thought, ‘Couldn’t be me,’” she recalled.

Intrigued, Kathman checked the winning numbers on Molottery.com. The winning Bonus Raffle number for the Jan. 23 drawing was:  2700647979.

“I looked it up on the computer and I was quite surprised,” she said.

“Because I heard it on the radio,” she continued. “And that’s a divine intervention there, I think. I was just sitting there at 6:30 in the morning thinking, ‘It can’t really be true.’”

The Missouri Lottery pays the taxes on the prize, bringing the total value to $20,520. Winners can have the Lottery plan a vacation for them, or select to receive $12,000 in cash. Kathman chose the later.

“My only grandbabies are in Alaska, and I thought, ‘I can make a lot of trips to Alaska.’ Otherwise, I would probably go to Russia or China,” she fantasized.

And even though she didn’t hit the Powerball jackpot, Kathman said she’ll keep playing.

(John Wells with Missouri Lottery contributed to this story.)

For more information on the prize visit the Missouri Lottery website.