News writer
Christmas morning turned into a million-dollar miracle for one Indiana couple who made an extraordinary discovery just in time. For months now, the Hoosier Lottery had been urging the public to check their tickets for an unclaimed $1 million Powerball prize that was getting ready to expire on December 26.
The Kendallville couple had been searching for months and had nearly given up, but they decided to make one last search between the seats of their car — and a Christmas miracle happened! The winning ticket had been sitting right inside their car the whole time and they found it just hours before the deadline, which tells us all that sometimes persistence does pay off.
The winning ticket
The winning Powerball ticket was for the Saturday, June 29, 2024, drawing. The winning white ball numbers for that drawing were 26, 51, 54, 61, and 69, and the Powerball number was 25.
The winning ticket was purchased at Kendalville Finish Line, located at 620 Professional Way in Kendalville. The ticket matched all of the winning white ball numbers to win the $1 million prize.
A search for the winners
In Indiana, winners must claim their prize within 180 days of the drawing. Based on that, this winning Powerball ticket was about to expire on December 26, 2024. The Hoosier Lottery had been publicizing that an unclaimed $1 million prize was about to expire and tried to get the word out to as many people as possible.
Those efforts helped, as the couple arrived at the Hoosier Lottery Prize Payment Office in downtown Indianapolis to claim their winnings with just about five hours to spare.
A search for the winning ticket
The couple, who requested to remain anonymous, told lottery officials that they had seen news coverage and signage at their local gas station regarding the unclaimed Powerball ticket. They said they started noticing everything about a month ago.
They told lottery officials that they don't visit the Kendallville Finish Line that often, and they weren't even certain if they bought any tickets for that specific Powerball drawing. However, they decided to take some time and look around their house for the ticket. That search wasn't successful, so they just assumed they didn't buy any tickets for that drawing.
A little before Christmas rolled around, the couple again heard the news talking about the unclaimed ticket and how it was about to expire. The couple decided to start searching again for the ticket.
They woke up about 4 a.m. on Christmas morning and started looking through their vehicle. They looked deep between the seats and that is when they found the Powerball ticket, which also just happened to be the unclaimed ticket the Hoosier Lottery was searching for.
The couple quickly headed to lottery headquarters to claim their prize, stating, “It was an emotional day for the both of us.”
While the couple got lucky in finding the winning ticket before the deadline, the Hoosier Lottery does encourage ticket holders to ensure their ticket is in a secure place. They also say winners should consider meeting with a financial advisor before claiming their prize, as well as contacting the Hoosier Lottery customer service at 1-800-955-6886 for any specific claim instructions.
The next Powerball drawing takes place on Saturday, December 28, 2024, and the estimated jackpot is $145 million.
Enjoy playing the Indiana Lottery, and please remember to play responsibly.
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