POULSBO — About three years ago, Kelly Bartel thought she won $10,000 off a lottery ticket. Turns out, she didn’t.

Robert Bartel, Kelly’s husband, and their daughter pulled a prank on the Poulsbo mom, giving her a fake lottery ticket for her birthday.

So when Robert walked into the house on Nov. 26, announcing he won the lottery, Kelly didn’t believe him.

“He said I needed to come into the house, he had something to tell me,” Kelly said.

Robert told Kelly they had won $1 million. Kelly didn’t believe him, although Robert couldn’t speak because he was so excited.

“I scratched it and realized it wasn’t a normal ticket,” Robert said in a press release. “It took me until I got home to realize the impact.”

But after returning to the Hilltop 76 on State Highway 3 to verify the ticket, there was only one thing to do: the Bartels calmly walked out of the store and went home to figure out their next move.

The Bartels originally thought they had won a lot less than they actually did. They figured after taxes and everything else, they won about $325,000. But it was a Gold Rush Scratch ticket, which meant a whole lot more.

The following day, Robert claimed the money at Washington’s Lottery Headquarters in Olympia.

“It made things a whole lot more fun,” Kelly said of the winning ticket.

The family is remodeling their home and plans to do some traveling. The Bartels’ first trip is most likely to Australia — that’s where their daughter wants to go.

The couple will continue to work. Their daughter will continue to go to school, of course.

“We just want to keep doing what we’re doing,” Kelly said. “Live normal. Have a nice retirement.”

The family will also use the money to pay off bills, put money away for their daughter’s education, and save for retirement.