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A Massachusetts man cashed in his $500,000 winning Powerball lottery ticket one day prior to the deadline to claim his prize.
Leonard Thomas, of South Dennis, finally claimed his prize from the August 19, 2020 Powerball drawing on August 18, 2021 after hearing his story reported on the radio.
“I heard about a Powerball ticket expiring on the radio and then my nephew told me,” said Thomas via a MassLottery.com news release. “I play at that store and have a plastic sleeve that I keep my tickets in. When I heard about the expiring ticket, I looked through the tickets in the sleeve and found a Powerball ticket from August 19, 2020. I had it scanned at a convenience store and the clerk indicated that I had to go to the Lottery to claim the prize.”
Thomas, accompanied by his dog, Mariah, claimed his prize at Massachusetts Lottery headquarters in Dorchester Wednesday and said he plans to use his winnings to purchase a small house or year-round cottage.
“What a great reminder to our lottery customers! Always be sure to check your tickets and keep them in a safe place,” said State Treasurer Deborah B. Goldberg, Chair of the Massachusetts State Lottery Commission, via MassLottery.com. “We are thrilled that Leonard, and his dog Mariah, saw the announcement about the expiring ticket and were able to cash it in!”
The winning ticket was purchased at South Dennis Mobil at 452 Route 134 in South Dennis.
The ticket matched four of the five numbers in the drawing -- 13-23-47-55-58 -- and the Powerball of 23.
Additionally, the ticket included the Power Play option and the Power Play multiplier, which was 10x and multiplied the initial winnings of $50,000 10 times for a total value of $500,000.
Powerball prize winners have exactly one year to claim their winnings after the initial drawing. Lottery prizes that expire will be distributed to all 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts.