Powerball player waits weeks to check Missouri ticket. The reveal causes him to shake

Just in time for his retirement, a Missouri man won a big Powerball prize — but he didn’t know about it for weeks.

“He never checks his tickets right away,” the winner’s wife said in an Aug. 13 Missouri Lottery news release. “He always just carries them around and then checks them weeks later.”

But when he did finally check the ticket from the July 17 Powerball drawing, it uncovered a big prize.

The man, who purchased the ticket at a convenience store in O’Fallon, matched four of the five white-ball numbers to win a $50,000 prize.

“He told me he won $50,000, and I didn’t believe him. He was shaking!” his wife said. “He’s going to retire soon, so that will go into his retirement fund.”

The winning numbers of the July 17 Powerball drawing were 24-27-32-47-66 with a Powerball number of 26. Matching all five white balls would have resulted in a $1 million prize, with the jackpot on July 17 being an estimated $76 million.

Odds of winning the $50,000 prize are 1 in 913,129.18.

O’Fallon is about a 35-mile drive northwest from St. Louis.

Many people can gamble or play games of chance without harm. However, for some, gambling is an addiction that can ruin lives and families.

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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