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Woman puzzled by lottery winnings checks Missouri ticket 4 times. ‘This isn’t right’

A Missouri Lottery player was in disbelief over her big Powerball win that caused her to check her ticket over and over, officials say.

The woman purchased the Powerball ticket at a Walmart in Springfield, and a notification she received on the Missouri Lottery mobile app pointed to good news. But she had no idea just how good.

“It said something like, ‘Go to a Missouri Lottery office,’” she told lottery officials. “So I knew I won over $600.”

The woman, who remained anonymous, soon realized she was a $50,000 winner of the July 31 drawing, the Missouri Lottery said in a Friday, Sept. 8, news release. Her ticket matched four of the five white balls — 2, 11, 48, 58 and 65.

She said her big win “couldn’t have come at a better time.”

“When I saw them, I was like, ‘That can’t be right. This isn’t right,’” she said. “I checked that ticket four times.”

Powerball costs $2 to play and offers a jackpot of $20 million, which increases until a winning ticket is claimed. Odds of winning $50,000 — the third highest prize Powerball offers — are 1-in-913,129.18.

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When gambling is more than a game

Gambling is designed to be a source of entertainment.

If you or a loved one shows signs of gambling addiction, you can seek help by calling the national gambling hotline at 1-800-522-4700 or visiting the National Council on Problem Gambling website.

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This story was originally published September 11, 2023 at 11:27 AM with the headline "Woman puzzled by lottery winnings checks Missouri ticket 4 times. ‘This isn’t right’."

MS
Mike Stunson
Lexington Herald-Leader
Mike Stunson covers real-time news for McClatchy. He is a 2011 Western Kentucky University graduate who has previously worked at the Paducah Sun and Madisonville Messenger as a sports reporter and the Lexington Herald-Leader as a breaking news reporter. 
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