Local News

$500,000 Powerball ticket cashed in one day before expiration

The winner plans to use his winnings to buy a small house or year-round cottage.

Leonard Thomas and his doh, Mariah, after they collected his $500,000 Powerball winnings on Aug. 18. Massachusetts State Lottery

By Julia Taliesin

August 18, 2021

1 minute to read

A South Dennis man cashed in his Powerball prize-winning lottery ticket just one day before it was due to expire.

Leonard Thomas won $500,000 in a drawing almost a year ago, on Aug. 19, 2020. He finally claimed his winnings at the Massachusetts State Lottery headquarters in Dorchester on Wednesday, accompanied by his dog Mariah.

“I heard about a Powerball ticket expiring on the radio and then my nephew told me,” Thomas said in a statement “I play at that store and have a plastic sleeve that I keep my tickets in. When I heard about the expiring ticket, I looked through the tickets in the sleeve and found a Powerball ticket from August 19, 2020. I had it scanned at a convenience store and the clerk indicated that I had to go to the Lottery to claim the prize.”

Thomas plans to use his winnings to buy a small house or year-round cottage.

He purchased the winning ticket at South Dennis Mobil on Route 134, which has received a $5,000 bonus for selling the ticket. The winning numbers for the drawing were 12-23-47-55-58 with a Powerball of 23, and Thomas’s Quic Pic ticket matched four of the first five numbers as well as the Powerball. Since his ticket also included the Power Play option, and the multiplier for this drawing was 10 times the base amount of $50,000, he won $500,000.

Leonard Thomas and his doh, Mariah, after they collected his $500,000 Powerball winnings on Aug. 18. – Massachusetts State Lottery

“What a great reminder to our lottery customers! Always be sure to check your tickets and keep them in a safe place,” said State Treasurer Deborah B. Goldberg, Chair of the Massachusetts State Lottery Commission in a statement. “We are thrilled that Leonard, and his dog Mariah, saw the announcement about the expiring ticket and were able to cash it in!”