Woman loading washing machine nearly destroys boyfriend’s winning $50,000 lotto ticket
As a woman was loading clothes into the washing machine, her boyfriend hastily interrupted.
There, among the laundry, was likely four Powerball tickets tucked away in a pants pocket, Maryland Lottery officials said in a Nov. 18 news release.
The woman, however, often tosses the laundry in the wash without ensuring pockets are empty, lottery officials said.
And, sure enough, when the man dug out the pants he found the tickets he bought at a Mt. Rainier liquor store, lottery officials said.
The boyfriend snagged the tickets, “moments away from being under water,” “just before it was too late,” lottery officials said.
“Five minutes later, she was washing clothes,” he told lottery officials.
When the man sat down to check his quick-pick tickets for the Nov. 6 drawing, he slowly went one-by-one using his phone’s lottery app.
While the first three tickets were not promising, the final ticket had “an entirely different story,” lottery officials said.
“I looked back at her and she said, ‘What’s wrong?’” the man said.
He told her the “great news:” a ticket that was nearly destroyed in a wash cycle came with a $50,000 prize, according to lottery officials.
The lottery player “matched four of the five white balls and the Powerball number,” lottery officials said.
A regular Powerball and Mega Millions player, the man told lottery officials he plays when the jackpots reach more than $50 million.
When he bought his ticket, the Powerball jackpot stood at $75 million, lottery officials said
The man told lottery officials he plans to set aside most of his winnings to save for a home for his family of four.
Some, though, the man said he plans to put toward his daughter’s birthday celebration.
Mt. Rainier is about a 34-mile drive southwest from Baltimore.
What to know about Powerball
To score the 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.
This story was originally published November 19, 2024 at 10:40 AM with the headline "Woman loading washing machine nearly destroys boyfriend’s winning $50,000 lotto ticket."
