Mother Urged Winner to Check Tickets, Having Heard News of Upcoming Expiration

MIDDLETOWN, Pa., June 18 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- William H. Greer of Philadelphia is the winner of a $200,000 Powerball prize that was set to expire at 4:30 p.m. today.

"My mother saw the news about the unclaimed ticket set to expire, knew the store that sold the ticket is where I play and told me to check my old tickets," said Greer. "The first couple of tickets I checked were not winners, but the last one matched the numbers my mother gave me. I started shaking when I checked the numbers against the Lottery's Web site."

Greer took his winning ticket to the Lottery's Philadelphia regional office on June 17. The claim arrived at Lottery headquarters in Middletown, Dauphin County, earlier today and was validated this afternoon after Lottery officials examined the ticket and executed proprietary security measures.

Greer's ticket correctly matched all five white balls, 09-12-31-39-52, for a $200,000 prize, less 25 percent federal withholding.

The winning ticket was sold at Choi Food & Beer Inc., 3987 Ford Rd, Philadelphia. The store will receive a $500 bonus for selling the winning ticket.

Lottery officials announced on June 4 that the unclaimed $200,000 prize from the June 18, 2008, Powerball drawing would expire today, one year from the Powerball drawing date, unless it was claimed.

How to play Powerball: To play Powerball, players pay $1 and select five white balls from the first set of 59 numbers plus a single red ball, the Powerball, from a second set of 39 numbers. Players may select their own numbers using a Powerball play slip, or they may opt for computer-selected quick picks. Players must match all five numbers drawn plus the Powerball number to win the jackpot. There also are eight additional ways for players to win a cash prize.

Powerball features an option called PowerPlay. For an extra $1 per Powerball play (game), players can multiply their Powerball prizes by 2, 3, 4, or 5 times the original prize amount for all prizes EXCEPT the jackpot. Prizes can multiply up to $1 million.

About the Pennsylvania Lottery: The Pennsylvania Lottery remains the only state lottery that designates all its proceeds to programs that benefit older residents. Since its inception 37 years ago, the Pennsylvania Lottery has contributed more than $18.3 billion to programs that include property tax and rent rebates; free and reduced-fare transit; the low-cost prescription drug programs PACE and PACENET; long-term care services; and the 52 Area Agencies on Aging, including more than 600 full- and part-time senior centers throughout the state. The Pennsylvania Lottery reminds its players to play responsibly. Players must be 18 or older.

For more information on the Pennsylvania Lottery, visit www.palottery.com.

EDITOR'S NOTE: William Greer declined participating in a check presentation or public event recognizing his win.

    CONTACT:  Veronica Sinclair-Anderson              (717) 702-8008

SOURCE Pennsylvania Lottery