By Todd Northrop
A Johnston, Rhode Island, man nearly threw out a Powerball ticket worth $50,000.
The Rhode Island Lottery Commission said that the man, who asked not to be publicly identified, bought the ticket back in February. He found the ticket in his car and was about to throw it away, but a friend stopped him and told him to check it just to be sure.
The ticket — matching four numbers and the Powerball — was from the Feb. 3 drawing. Such a ticket is worth $50,000.
"When he checked the ticket, he was surprised to learn it was a $50,000 winner," the Rhode Island Lottery Commission said. "He said he is still in shock and does not have any immediate plans for the money won."
The ticket was sold at Park Wine & Spirits on Park Avenue in Cranston.
The state lottery also said a Powerball ticket worth $30,000 is about to go unclaimed.
The ticket was sold Sept. 16, 2015, at Clements' Marketplace on East Main Road in Portsmouth.
Players have a year to claim prizes. The ticket must be turned in by 4 p.m. Sept. 16.
Unclaimed prizes go into the state's general fund.
Wow !
Imagine if his friend wasn't there. He should give him a good portion, because if it weren't for his friend, there was a 99% chance it would have been thrown away.
Good for him, but why do you even leave a ticket in the car that long in the first place?
Must be a B.J.O.P. (big jackpot only player)
The jackpot for Feb 3 was $116 mil
Speaking of which no one hit Saturday. It's now up to $222 mil / $150.4 cash
If the friend is a close friend then he will probably be included in any celebrations.
Congratulations to the winner!
It must have been out of the summer sun; otherwise the ticket may have become defective unless they've fixed that problem with those type of paper.
Let's just call this what it is: sheer stupidity. If you are in good health, and smart enough to buy lottery tickets but lazy and stupid enough not to check them, and you lose out on your windfall, that one is on you. Where can you get a job that pays you $50,000 for approx. 3 mins of work{the time it took you to purchase the ticket}? Check your tickets often but you know that already.
I love it when a prizes go unclaimed cause of fat heads like this
I'm glad he got to claim his prize. I think I would cut my friend in on a little something for his
50,000 dollar advice.
If post tax was about $25G, my friend would be getting about $10G.
thats a fair amount given the circumstances.
That would've been a wasted ticket right there. That's a good story right there.
How can anyone buy a lottery ticket and not check it the very next day?