POWERBALL players have been urged to check their tickets as someone is sitting on a ticket worth $50,000.
A prize won in a Colorado lottery draw in February will soon expire if it goes unclaimed.
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The ticket was bought at King Soopers #138 in Colorado on February 10.
The player won the $50,000 prize after they landed a Match 4 (four matching white balls) plus Powerball.
The ticket must be claimed by August 9 or the money will return to one of Powerball’s jurisdictions.
The Powerball website reads: “If a grand prize goes unclaimed, the money is returned to each participating state in line with how much they generated during that particular jackpot run.
“Unclaimed Powerball prizes in other categories are kept by the relevant lottery jurisdiction, and redistributed according to state rules.
“In many states, this money is used to support good causes.”
Two other Powerball prizes won in February also remain unclaimed.
A $50,000 prize won at Louisiana Marty J’s Truck Stop, 4994 Hwy 56, Chauvin, in Lousiana on February 14 has not yet been claimed.
The player has until August 14 to come forward.
Also unclaimed from a draw held in Louisiana is a $50,000 prize won on February 24 at Wilderness Acres, 14759 Highway 15, Downsville.
This prize will expire on August 23.
In both cases, the lucky players landed a Match 4 plus Powerball.
The odds of winning the $50,000 prize are one in 913,129.18, according to the Powerball website.
Meanwhile, the odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are one in 292,201,338.
This makes lottery players slightly more likely to win the Powerball jackpot than the Mega Millions one, which has odds of one in 302,575,350.
It comes as a new law has been passed allowing more lottery earnings to be spent on player payouts, therefore increasing the number of games with larger prizes.
In Pennsylvania, the State Senate and House passed a bill allowing the Pennsylvania Lottery to allocate a greater portion of its revenue on player payouts.
The bill was introduced by state representative Melissa Shusterman and backed by lottery officials and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro.
By offering a higher number of big-ticket prizes, the Pennsylvania Lottery hopes to lure in more players and make a bigger profit, which officials argue will benefit the state’s seniors.
“This change will allow the Pennsylvania Lottery to more effectively compete with other forms of entertainment, and put the Lottery on better financial footing,” Shusterman told Spotlight PA.
She added that the new change will bring in millions of additional dollars for programs that help improve seniors’ quality of life.
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