Winner winner chicken dinner! You just won the lottery, but do you know what to do next? Here’s what to know before you cash out.
Sometimes a mistake can end up being the best decision you ever made.
That is what happened to a woman in Virginia when she mistakenly bought a Powerball ticket instead of another jackpot ticket last month.
According to the Virginia Lottery, Miriam Long went to a CVS pharmacy in Blacksburg in March to buy a ticket for the estimated $893 million Mega Millions jackpot.
However, she "accidentally" pushed the wrong button, and the machine gave her a Powerball Easy Pick ticket.
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Her numbers, 10-17-20-39-44, resulted in matching the first five winning numbers of the March 18 Powerball drawing. The only number she missed was the Powerball, which was 16.
“My heart was pounding!” she told lottery officials. “It’s overwhelming!”
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Nevertheless, her mistake ended up netting her a $1 million cash prize.
“It’s the best mistake of my life!” she said.
The CVS that sold her the ticket also received a $10,000 prize from the Virginia Lottery, officials said in a statement.
Powerball is played in 45 states plus Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Drawings are held at 10:59 p.m. EST at the Florida Lottery studio in Tallahassee.
