Puyallup Man Finds $1 Million Lottery Ticket in His Pocket

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 30, 2015

A Puyallup man unknowingly held a Washington’s Lottery Powerball ticket for a month before realizing it was worth $1 million. Washington’s newest millionaire purchased the ticket for the February 17 drawing from Safeway (11501 Canyon Rd E) in Puyallup, and on March 18 he realized he had won.

“I went to scan the ticket, then got a call from my boss and had to leave. I put the ticket in my jacket pocket and planned to go back and check it later,” said the winner. “The weather got warmer, so I put my jacket away and completely forgot about the ticket!”

The winner didn’t find his ticket until he wore his jacket again. “I thought to myself, ‘Oh yeah, I have to go check this!’” He told Lottery officials he was in shock when he finally scanned it and saw the amount. “I’ve never won anything and couldn’t believe what was happening.”

He first shared the news with his wife. “I called her right away and told her she can quit her job. A trip to Europe is definitely in the mix for this summer.”

He also said he will be making some updates to his bucket list. “I’ve been skydiving, raced cars, and I thought my bucket list was satisfied until now. This changes the whole bucket list game!”

Along with setting new goals, the longtime Washington’s Lottery player offered a tidbit of advice. “You never know how long you have in life. You have to take care of things while you can.”

When someone in Washington wins a Powerball jackpot, others in the state benefit, too. Safeway, the Puyallup retailer that sold the winning ticket, will receive a $10,000 selling bonus.

Proceeds from Washington’s Lottery benefit the Washington Opportunity Pathways Account, providing grants to college students statewide. To learn more about Washington’s Lottery, its beneficiaries and to review all up-to-date winning numbers, please visit www.walottery.com.

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WASHINGTON’S LOTTERY: Since 1982, Washington’s Lottery has generated more than $3 billion to support important state programs including the Washington Opportunity Pathways Account. Money in the Pathways Account goes toward helping students achieve their higher education dreams and supports early childhood education learning programs. The state’s Lottery offers consumers several types of games: Mega Millions, Powerball, Lotto, Hit 5, Match 4, The Daily Game, Daily Keno and Scratch. For more information, visit www.walottery.com or join our online community on Facebook at www.facebook.com/walottery and follow us on Twitter @walottery.