(LEX 18) — A Kentucky couple discovered they won $50,000 from a free promotional Powerball ticket two weeks after the Oct. 4 drawing, when the woman returned home from a trip to Europe.
The Kentucky Lottery says the winning ticket came through the Kentucky Lottery’s “First Friday Promotion,” which gives players a free $2 Powerball Quick Pick play on the first Friday in September, October, and November. Players must purchase $10 or more on Mega Millions in a single transaction during the promotional period to receive the free play.
A release says that the couple has played the lottery faithfully every week for years, spending $15 each on tickets. The woman typically purchases their Powerball and Mega Millions tickets from the lottery vending machine at Thornton’s on Preston Highway in Louisville. They always choose their own numbers using a play slip for a total of $28 and pick out a scratch-off with the remaining $2.
After discovering that she had won, the woman called her boyfriend, who thought “it was a joke.” “I was skeptical,” the boyfriend reportedly said.
After taxes, the couple received a check for $36,000. The woman says that she plans to pay off her mortgage and donate to her church.
Thortons will receive $500 for selling the winning ticket.
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