News writer
For one Kentucky woman, taking out the trash turned into taking home a six-figure prize. After buying three Powerball tickets, she checked them and tossed what she believed were losing tickets.
But as fate would have it, a sharp-eyed store clerk later informed her that she had actually won $100,000. This put her on a frantic mission to dig through the garbage and recover her golden ticket.
The initial purchase
The Estill County woman, who chose to remain anonymous, made her way to Ravenna Food Mart, located at 314 Main St. in Ravenna. At that time, she had purchased three separate tickets for the February 15 Powerball drawing.
After the drawing was held, she checked her tickets and threw away what she thought were the losing tickets. The winning white ball numbers for that February 15 drawing were 3, 16, 45, 54, and 56, with the Powerball number being 12 and Power Play of 2X.
Store clerk saves the day
While she didn't think she won a big prize, the woman did have a winning ticket on her hands. She made her way back to Ravenna Food Mart to cash in a different ticket.
However, while she was in the store, the clerk let her know that she had won $100,000 on one of the other tickets. The woman told lottery officials:
I couldn't believe it. I screamed, and everyone thought something was wrong!
Nothing was wrong, but she did throw out her other Powerball tickets. That meant she had to head back home and start digging through the trash to find the winning ticket. It didn't take long before she found it stuck to another one of the tickets she had thrown away.
That winning ticket matched four of the white ball numbers and the Powerball to win $50,000. However, she included the Power Play option, so her prize doubled to $100,000.
She recently made her way to the Kentucky Lottery Headquarters to claim her prize. After taxes, she received $72,000, which she plans on using to buy a new car and pay off some debt.
For selling the winning ticket, the Ravenna Food Mart will receive a $1,000 bonus from the state lottery, which should go directly to that employee who discovered she won the big prize.
Woman honors late father with Powerball win
Another Kentucky woman had some luck playing Powerball also, but she was doing it in honor of her father. On February 23, Shannon Williams stopped at a gas station in Hopkinsville on her way back from Tennessee, where she had just memorialized her father who died in 2022.
The sun was shining bright, and it was her father's birthday weekend. The Murray woman had an overwhelming feeling that her dad was with her, so she decided to buy a Powerball ticket in his memory.
It worked out, as her ticket for the February 24 drawing matched four of the winning white ball numbers and the Powerball to win $50,000. However, she also added on the Power Play feature, which was 3X that night, so her prize multiplied to $150,000.
Williams had only played Powerball one other time before this big win, but she told lottery officials she plans on continuing to play. After claiming her winnings, she got almost $110,000 after taxes. She plans on using those winnings to make some home renovations and donations in honor of her father.
Enjoy playing the Kentucky Lottery, and please remember to play responsibly.
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