Woman cleans out messy purse, finds $157,000 lottery ticket

KILKENNY, Ireland, Aug. 23 (UPI) -- An Irish woman said she might have missed out on a $157,000 lottery jackpot if she hadn't decided to clean the clutter out of her purse.

The Kilkenny woman, who wished to remain anonymous, claimed her $157,418 prize Monday at the National Lottery office in Dublin after a weekend purse cleaning yielded several lottery tickets she had forgotten in the abyss of her handbag.

"My handbag was bulging and I decided to clear the load yesterday. There were a few Lotto tickets in there.  I'd just seen the news that the big jackpot was won in Leitrim but I thought, sure you never know, there might be a few quid on these," the woman told reporters at the lottery office.

"I checked the tickets on the scanner in the shop and was surprised when I got a message to contact the National Lottery. When I found out how much I won, I was absolutely delighted," she said.

The woman purchased her winning ticket at Dunnes Stores in Kilkenny Aug. 6 and won the prize in that evening's drawing.