A forgotten lottery ticket has turned a lucky woman into a millionaire after her husband found it in his coat pocket a week after the draw.
Ana Elizalde, 51 – from the city of Lansing, Michigan State, USA – had given the ticket to her husband for safe keeping.
But Ana completely forgot about it and did not find the ticker until a week later when her husband was going through his pockets.
She said in a statement obtained by Newsflash from Michigan Lottery: “I purchased a Powerball ticket as usual, and I gave it to my husband to hold on to.
“A week after the drawing my husband found the ticket in his coat pocket and realised we had never checked it.”
She added: “We went to the store to scan it and got a message to file a claim.
“When we checked the numbers online and realised we’d won USD 1 million [GBP 827,800], we were in shock!
“We always had a feeling this day would come and now that it’s here, it feels surreal.”
Ana bought the winning Powerball ticket for the draw on Monday, 6th February playing the winning numbers 05, 11, 22, 23, 69.
She said: “Me and my husband buy a Powerball ticket for every drawing, and we always knew we would win big.”
The couple collected their winnings on Friday, 24th February.
They revealed that they will use the money to pay their bills and their children’s education, and then save the rest.
Michigan Lottery that the current Powerball jackpot stands at USD 143 million (GBP 118,4 million) after a ticket bought in the Washington Charter Township won USD 754.6 million (GBP 624,9 million) on Monday, 6th February.
They added: “Powerball plays may be purchased for USD 2 [GBP 1.66] each at Lottery retailers across the state and online at MichiganLottery.com.
“A ‘Power Play’ option that multiplies non-jackpot prizes by up to 10 times to a maximum of USD 2 million [GBP 1,6 million] may be added to any Powerball play for only USD 1 [GBP 0.83].
“For an additional USD 1 [GBP 0.83] per play, Double Play may be added to a Powerball ticket, giving players a second chance to win up to USD 10 million [GBP 8,2 million] in the nightly Double Play drawing.”
