$500K Powerball Prize Claimed By Cape Cod Man 1 Day Before Expiration
DENNIS (CBS) -- A South Dennis man has claimed a $500,000 Powerball prize one day before it was going to expire.
The Massachusetts State Lottery announced Wednesday that Leonard Thomas is the winner of a previously unclaimed $500,000 Powerball winning ticket, which was drawn on August 19, 2020. The lottery had publicized this week that it was still looking for the winner to cash in the ticket.
Thomas bought the ticket at the South Dennis Mobil gas station on Route 134.
He went to the Massachusetts Lottery headquarters in Dorchester on Wednesday to claim his prize, accompanied by his dog Mariah.
According to a press release from the Massachusetts Lottery, Thomas heard on the radio and through a nephew that there was a winning Powerball ticket expiring on Thursday that had been bought at the South Dennis Mobil gas station.
"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," Thomas said.
He told the Massachusetts Lottery that he plans on using the money he won to buy a small house or year-round cottage.
The winning numbers were 13-23-47-55-58, with a Powerball number of 23. The winning ticket had four of the first five numbers, including the Powerball.
Because the Powerball for the drawing multiplied the base prize of $50,000 by 10, the winnings turned into $500,000.