$50K Lottery Ticket Found In Purse To Pay Medical Bills, Home Projects

ANNAPOLIS, MD — An Annapolis woman won $50,000 playing Powerball, the Maryland Lottery announced Wednesday.

The winner said the prize will pay her medical bills and fund a home improvement project.

The victor is a federal government employee only identified as Cher.

Cher bought her ticket at Giant #167 at 948 Bay Ridge Road.

The frequent lottery player buys tickets anytime she's in a store that sells them, but she only checks for winners when the tickets pile up.

“I don't check the tickets until they no longer fit in the Lottery pocket in my purse,” Cher said in a press release.

Cher asked a store employee to check her tickets.

“Her eyes got so big when she checked my ticket on the Lottery terminal,” Cher stated. “She said, ‘We can't cash that here.’”

Cher headed to the parking lot overcome with joy.

“Between the clerk's reaction and what she told me, I figured that I'd won pretty big,” she said. “My knees were weak and I was trying not to cry, but I held it together until I got in my car.”

Cher's third-tier Powerball prize came in the March 4 drawing. She also won another $7.

The Powerball jackpot has since grown to $750 million. The next drawing is on Saturday.

The Mega Millions jackpot is $977 million with the next drawing on Friday.

To learn how to claim a prize, click here.

Anybody with a gambling problem can get free and confidential help by visiting mdgamblinghelp.org or calling 1-800-GAMBLER.