Forgotten lottery ticket found in purse earns woman $250,000

April 27 (UPI) -- A Maryland woman said a forgotten scratch-off ticket she found at the bottom of her purse turned out to be a $250,000 top prize winner.

The 39-year-old Westminster woman told Maryland Lottery officials she was on her lunch break from work when a coworker's purchase of a scratch-off lottery ticket from the Exxon station in Reisterstown inspired her to follow suit.

The woman said she put the ticket in her purse, where it was forgotten for about a week.

The player told officials she came across the ticket in her purse and scratched it, initially thinking it wasn't a winner until she revealed the "win all" symbol, earning her a $250,000 jackpot. She said the win was difficult to believe.

"I scanned the ticket with my lottery app for the final dose of reality," the woman said.

She said her husband required a bit of extra convincing.

"Even after we had driven to lottery headquarters to claim the winnings, he still expected friends to jump out like this had been an elaborate prank," she said.

The winner said she is still deciding how to spend her winnings, but boosting her retirement savings and taking a vacation somewhere warm are high on her list.