Maryland woman wins $1M Powerball jackpot after finding forgotten ticket in wallet

BALTIMORE — A Maryland woman found an old Powerball ticket in her wallet and wondered if she won a small prize. Her payday was much more than “small” -- it was worth $1 million.

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According to a news release from the Maryland Lottery on Tuesday, the woman, who lives in Worcester County, won the prize from the Sept. 27 Powerball drawing.

The winner, who chose to remain anonymous, bought the ticket when the Powerball jackpot was at $835 million. She bought $10 worth of quick-pick tickets at Duck In II in Snow Hill but forgot about it after she did not win the big prize.

Unknown to her, she was one of four players nationwide to win the second-tier prize of $1 million, lottery officials said.

The winner was looking for an item in her wallet when she happened to find the ticket. While she did not expect a large payday, she wanted to see if it was a winner.

“I just wanted to check it to see if we got anything,” the warehouse worker said in a statement.

She sent her husband to a retailer to scan the ticket, and the man suddenly saw the $1 million figure.

“There were a lot of zeros. I thought it was some type of promotional message,” the man told lottery officials. “I scanned it again and got the same numbers.”

The clerk confirmed that the ticket was a seven-figure winner, and the man excitedly went home to share the news with his wife.

“He likes to kid around and I thought he was joking,” the woman told lottery officials.

The winner said she plans to pay off the mortgage on the couple’s home and donate some cash to an animal rescue facility.

The retailer also cashed in. Duck in II received a $2,500 bonus for selling the winning ticket, lottery officials said.

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