Grandmother won $95 million lottery jackpot thanks to an eerie premonition

A grandmother who won a $95 million jackpot says she got lucky after she suffered from a bizarre itch — and jumped into action.

A lucky grandmother had a stroke of luck when she won the lottery after listening to an old superstition.

Mary Shammas from Brooklyn, New York, won $95 million ($US64 million) in a Mega Millions jackpot in 2010.

The 73-year-old explained at the time how she hadn’t played her numbers in a while but an itchy hand made her jump off the bus to get a ticket.

Speaking to CBS on the Early Show on Saturday Morning, she explained the bizarre incident that led to her fortune.

Mary was on her way back from a doctor's appointment when her palm started to itch. Picture: CBS

“I had a terrible itch that I’ve never had before,” she told co-anchor Eria Hill.

Mary continued: “Within the short while, it was three or four times happening.

“I said to myself, ‘This means something.

“’It’s an old-fashioned superstition, but you know what, I haven’t played Mega Millions in a couple of weeks. Let me just go and validate a ticket.’

“I had an envelope with all my numbers in my bag.”

An old superstition states that an itchy left hand indicates that money is on the way.

As many regular lottery players do, Mary played with the same numbers - 5, 14, 17, 19, and 24.

These had not been picked at random, instead, she chose the numbers based on the birthdays of her cousin’s family members.

She said on the show: “I went in, and validated the ticket, spent $5, never dreaming that maybe I’ll win $10 or something, you know?”

The family was shocked by the win. Picture: CBS

The whopping amount she did win “was not in my brain at the time,” Mary added.

When she made the shocking discovery of her multimillion-dollar win, she immediately called her son, Joseph, to confirm it.

She explained how her son did not believe her and said: “He walked over and checked the ticket and said, ‘Ma, you really won!’

“And it was all night back-and-forth conversing. Nobody slept.”

Joseph called his brother Richard who told CBS that he was in “total shock” as he had assumed the late-night call would be bad news.

“Even ‘til this day, I think my whole family is still in shock,” he said.

“We’re wondering if we’re gonna wake up and say we dreamed we won $64 million. But it’s unbelievable.”

Richard added: “It’s so amazing, the feeling and not having to worry. She really outdid herself!”

Mary, who was suffering from lung cancer at the time, told the news outlet how she was overjoyed at being able to give her family a good life.

“It’s the best feeling in the world anyone could have,” she said.

She added: “I’d like to see them have a better life than I had - (I had) a rough life, and I’m able to give them this. This is my joy in life.”

Mary decided to share her winnings with her two daughters, two sons, and he nephew, leaving the smallest share of $1.3 million after tax for herself.

The lucky grandmother hoped to put some of her newfound wealth toward a trip to Atlantic City but due to her illness was unable to leave her home most days.

This story was published by The US Sun and was reproduced with permission