Clerk makes mistake on Powerball ticket — but it doubles player’s win. ‘Lucky woman’
When a Maryland woman noticed a clerk had mistyped the numbers on her Powerball ticket, she told the worker not to worry — she’d take the ticket anyway.
It turned out to be the right call, the Maryland Lottery said in an April 22 news release. The ticket with the “mistake” won $100,000 thanks to the Power Play in the April 10 Powerball drawing.
But it wasn’t the Gaithersburg woman’s only big win that night. Another ticket also won $50,000 with a Power Play, doubling the prize to $100,000.
“I scanned my winners about 10 to 12 times because I really couldn’t believe I had won that much money,” she told lottery officials. “I felt my body shaking, I dropped to my knees and thanked God.”
The woman said she had actually forgotten about the tickets, purchased at a grocery store and a liquor store, until her daughter reminded her to check the winning numbers a few days later.
“I guess I am a lucky woman, my mother used to tell me that,” the winner said. “It finally feels like it today.”
The woman told lottery officials she plans to invest or save her winnings and told only her daughter and mother about the prizes.
The next Powerball drawing on Wednesday, April 24, will have an estimated $129 million jackpot, according to the national Powerball site.
What to know about Powerball
To score a jackpot in the Powerball, a player must match all five white balls and the red Powerball.
The odds of scoring the jackpot prize are 1 in 292,201,338.
Tickets can be bought on the day of the drawing, but sales times and price vary by state.
Drawings are broadcast Saturdays, Mondays and Wednesdays at 10:59 p.m. ET and can be streamed online.
Powerball is played in 45 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Many people can gamble or play games of chance without harm. However, for some, gambling is an addiction that can ruin lives and families.
If you or a loved one shows signs of gambling addiction, you can seek help by calling the national gambling hotline at 1-800-522-4700 or visiting the National Council on Problem Gambling website.
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