need to know
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An Ohio man recently learned he won a jackpot on a lottery ticket he purchased in September
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Three months later he found the forgotten tickets in his wallet
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Man discovered he had won five-figure sum after checking lottery ticket at local store
An Ohio man rang in the New Year with a very lucky discovery.
John, of Powhatan Point, purchased his first Powerball ticket on Sept. 23, the day before the next scheduled drawing, according to a news release from the Ohio Lottery.
However, after pocketing the ticket, John completely forgot about it – only to rediscover the ticket in the last week of the year.
After finding the ticket, John decided to check the numbers to see if he had won.
To do so, he went to Tom’s Carry Out in Powhatan Point, where he had a clerk scan the ticket while he purchased some ice, according to lottery officials.
That’s when John received a shocking surprise: The ticket ended up being the winner of the $50,000 prize, as his ticket matched four of the five white balls as well as the Powerball.
As fate would have it, no one won the estimated $127 million jackpot in the Sept. 24 drawing,
Instead, the jackpot grew over the next three months to an estimated $1.8 billion, the second-largest prize in Powerball history, won from a ticket purchased in Arkansas on Dec. 24 and recently claimed by a winner who chose to remain anonymous.
Sharon Strong, executive director of the ASL, said in a statement that the winner followed the advice of lottery officials and “took the time to seek legal counsel and financial advice” before coming forward.
Strong added, “We are proud to celebrate this moment, not only for our Arkansas winners and the Arkansas company that sold the winning ticket, Murphy USA, but also for the positive impact this historic jackpot will have on our state and our mission of raising funds for in-state scholarships.”
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The Powerball drawing takes place every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 pm ET. Tickets are $2 each.
If you or someone you know is struggling with a gambling problem, contact the National Problem Gambling Helpline Network at 1-800-522-4700 or visit gamtalk.org.
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