A Bowling Green, KY couple is relieved after a lost Kentucky Lottery Powerball ticket was found. The ticket was worth $50,000.
Mark Perdue bought a Powerball ticket for the October 30, 2023 drawing at AM Express in Bowling Green where he’s a regular.
“About a week later, I go back to the store to buy a Diet Mountain Dew when the owner tells me, ‘Congratulations,’” Perdue recalled. “I said, ‘for what?’ And she said, ‘You won the lottery.’ I said, ‘I wish.’ She said, ‘you did, I have you on video.’”
For over three months, Perdue and his wife were unable to locate the ticket, thinking it may have been thrown it away.
“I’ve been beating myself up for three months thinking I threw this ticket away,” his wife said. “I did throw a ticket away, but it was an older ticket. Then I convinced myself maybe it was this ticket.”
Perdue, the President of Kiriu USA, had a visitor in town from another plant in early February. While in town, the visitor was going to use a company vehicle.
Perdue walked out with the plant manager to check the car’s condition when the manager opened the door and sat in the front seat.
“I look down and saw it [ticket],” Perdue said. “I picked it up and I saw October 30th and I said, ‘That’s my ticket!’”
Perdue said the vehicles are rarely driven and suspects the ticket may have fallen out of his pocket the last time he used it.
“I don’t know how long it might have sat out there if I hadn’t needed the car.” Perdue said. “I was shaking a little bit.”
He told officials he went inside and grabbed his phone and pulled up , took a snapshot of it and sent it to his wife.
“I was relieved,” his wife said after seeing his text.
The couple were excited to show up at lottery headquarters the following day with the winning ticket in hand and walked away with a check for $36,000 after taxes.
The couple plans to pay off bills and may take a trip.
“She asked me last night what I wanted to do with it [winnings],” Perdue said.
“You’ve only had three months to think about it, “ his wife said jokingly.
AM Express will receive $500 for selling the winning ticket.