Powerball ticket worth $50,000 claimed days before expiration

Feb. 5 (UPI) -- A Pennsylvania writer said she just barely made a different sort of deadline -- cashing in a $50,000 Powerball ticket days before it expired.

The 40-year-old York woman said she had no idea one of the lottery tickets that accumulated in her purse was a winner until she decided to go through them last week.

The woman discovered a Powerball ticket she purchased from a Wedmans store in Frederick, Md., had won $50,000 in the Aug. 12 drawing.

The woman visited Maryland Lottery headquarters to claim her prize and discovered she had decided to check the ticket with only days to spare before it was set to expire Feb. 9. The woman said she had heard on the radio during her drive to Maryland that there were unclaimed Powerball prizes about to expire.

The woman's ticket matched four numbers, 20-24-35-49, and the Powerball number of 19.