WHEN most people clean out their wallets, all they find is a few bucks and a couple of old receipts.

Charles Dudley of Redding, Conneticut, found a virtual pot of gold in his — a winning, million dollar Powerball ticket that would have expired soon, according to the Connecticut Lottery.

The ticket was from the May 2 drawing, the lottery said last week. Dudley, of Redding, had 23 days left to claim the prize when he found the ticket. He claimed it Oct. 3.

The winning Powerball numbers drawn on May 2 were 5-14-31-40-50, Powerball 6. Dudley’s ticket matched the first five numbers drawn.

He found the ticket months later stuck between some old receipts in his wallet, the lottery said.

“I checked the winning numbers on the lottery’s website and couldn’t believe it. I checked it over and over. The numbers were a match,” he told lottery officials. “It didn’t feel real, though, until I checked the location of where the ticket was sold. It was where I bought my ticket.”

He told them he had stopped for ice cream at the Georgetown Shell in Wilton on May 2. “While I was there, I got a Powerball Quick Pick, put it in my wallet, and then forgot about it.”

For selling the winning ticket, the store will get a US$2,500 bonus, the lottery authority said.

(SD-Agencies)