A Florida man's luck changed after he stumbled upon a $1 million winning lottery ticket while cleaning his house.
Kenneth Morgan, 54, of Jacksonville, purchased the ticket at the Publix Liquor Store in Jacksonville for the April 17 Powerball drawing, but he soon forgot all about it — until earlier this month.
"I was cleaning the house on the fourth of July when I found the Powerball ticket in a drawer," Morgan told the Florida Lottery. "I checked the numbers and discovered it was a $1 million winner - I'm still in shock!"
The winning ticket matched all five of the white ball numbers but not the Powerball number. The retailer will receive a $1,000 bonus commission for selling the winning Powerball ticket.
Prior to Morgan, a 23-year-old resident of Land O' Lakes became the youngest player in Florida Lottery history to claim a Powerball jackpot prize, according to the Florida Lottery. Thomas Yi claimed a $235.4 million jackpot prize from the Powerball drawing held on March 27.
"Even after matching all six numbers, I was in disbelief and took my ticket to a retailer to have it checked," Yi said. "The clerk at the counter instantly became excited and kept repeating that I had won the $235 million POWERBALL jackpot. I knew then that this would be life changing."
Yi added that, despite the money, he wanted to still pursue a higher education in either business or the medical field.
Meanwhile, in Dubai, a 9-year-old girl made headlines recently after she won a McLaren Coupe car valued at over $261,000, then she won $1 million in a Dubai lottery. Both prizes were clinched in the same competition, The Daily Mail reported.
The lucky winner, identified as Eliza.M. by the Khaleej Times, claimed her prize after her ticket was selected at a drawing at Dubai's International Airport. It was her father, identified as Mr. M, who purchased the winning ticket online under his daughter's name, his lucky charm who won the Coupe in 2013. Eliza's father has been buying lotto tickets since 2004.
The excited father said he had been dreaming about how he would spend the winning money for years.
"I have been making plans, [but] I said to myself to continue my life as it is, and then this thing happened today," he said. "Finally, my perseverance has paid off."
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