A New Jersey man nearly tossed $50,000 out with the trash.
Anup Patel, of Piscataway, typically plays lottery games when the jackpots are high, so when the Powerball hit a whopping $422 million in July, he bought a ticket. He left the ticket in his car's cup holder and forgot to check the numbers, though, according to the New Jersey Lottery.
The ticket sat in the cup holder until late January, when Patel noticed it as he was cleaning out his car, officials say. He almost threw it out, then figured he may as well check to see if it was worth anything.
It was a $50,000 winner.
Patel claimed his prize Feb. 3, 190 days after the Powerball drawing (winners have one year from the drawing date to claim prizes). The ticket was sold at Baldwin News & Food Store in Parsippany.
