Mom learns of lucky Powerball ticket sold in Virginia — then discovers she’s a winner
A Virginia mom was shopping for her daughter when she treated herself to a lottery ticket — a decision that paid off big time.
But the woman, Elizabeth Moss, didn’t realize she won a Powerball prize at first. She heard that a person in California scored a jackpot prize in the game and thought her own ticket wasn’t lucky, according to the Virginia Lottery.
“We were looking for the big money,” Moss told lottery officials in an Aug. 29 news release.
But Moss soon learned another winning Powerball ticket was sold in Virginia — at the same grocery store where she bought hers.
“Moss told her husband, ‘Honey, go get my ticket,” the lottery wrote. “Sure enough, it was the winning ticket.”
Moss had scored a $100,000 prize after stopping at a Harris Teeter supermarket in Chesapeake, where officials said she spent $3 on a ticket for the July 19 Powerball drawing.
Moss was drawn to that night’s $1 billion jackpot prize. Though she missed out on the ultimate prize, she got richer after her ticket matched five numbers, including the Powerball number.
“I’m still in shock,” Moss said.
The Virginia Lottery in its news release didn’t say how much money Moss kept after taxes. She is from Chesapeake, near Norfolk.
It’s not the first time news of a Powerball prize made a lottery player pay more attention to their ticket. In North Carolina, a couple found out about a big win and couldn’t believe they were the lucky ticket holders, McClatchy News reported in August.
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This story was originally published August 30, 2023 at 2:52 PM with the headline "Mom learns of lucky Powerball ticket sold in Virginia — then discovers she’s a winner."
