A man found a winning $100K lottery ticket in his wife's car. But it had already expired
What would you do with an extra $100,000?
Des Moines resident Bradly Hanawalt said he asks himself that every day after learning too late that he had a winning Powerball ticket.
Hanawalt said his wife purchased the winning lottery ticket Nov. 26, 2019, at a QuikTrip.
"My gut dropped," he said. "A chance to have $100,000 was awesome."
According to Hanawalt, the lottery ticket expired Nov. 30, 2020. He said he tried to claim the prize on Feb. 8, 2021 after finding the ticket in his wife's car.
"It doesn't hurt because I didn't have that money, but it hurts because I could have had that money," Hanawalt said. "I have six daughters. It would have helped with bills and everything else."
Hanawalt said his wife had COVID-19 in November and that he argued for an extension with the Iowa Lottery.
The Iowa Lottery did not grant extensions on claiming prize money because the organization did not close during the pandemic.
"We feel great empathy for those folks (…) but Iowa law, Powerball law … the administrative rules are very clear," said Mary Neubauer, with Iowa Lottery. "Once a prize is expired it cannot be claimed."
Neubauer said Iowa Lottery issued a statewide release about the unclaimed Powerball prize before it expired.
"We put out a reminder in the final week saying, 'Please, please check. Look at home. Check the sun visor on your car. If you have a pile of tickets, check them,'" she said.
Despite checking the winning ticket too late, Hanawalt said he is focused on counting his blessings instead of his lottery losses.
"It’s money I didn't have, but I have everything I want," he said. "I'm blessed to have six healthy kids. I'm walking again. We're all healthy and happy, and we're loving life."
Hanawalt said his wife believes luck will strike again and that she continues to buy lottery tickets each week.
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