Bowling Green man claims $50,000 Powerball ticket believed to be thrown away

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – A Bowling Green couple is relieved after finding the ticket to a $50,000 win.

Mark Perdue purchased a Kentucky Lottery Powerball ticket for the Oct. 30, 2023 drawing at AM Express in Bowling Green, where he’s a regular, according to a lottery officials.

Perdue said he returned to the store about a week later for a Diet Mountain Dew when the owner congratulated him on his lottery win. At first, Perdue didn’t believe her.

For over three months, Perdue and his wife could not find the ticket, thinking it was thrown away.

“I’ve been beating myself up for three months,” his wife said. “I did throw a ticket away, but it was an older ticket. Then I convinced myself maybe it was this ticket.”

However, things would take a positive turn. Perdue, the President of Kiriu USA, had a visitor in town from another plant earlier this month, who planned to use a company vehicle.

While inspecting the vehicle, Perdue found his Oct. 30 ticket. He suspects it fell out of his pocket the last time he used the vehicle, lottery officials say.

“I don’t know how long it might have sat out there if I hadn’t needed the car,” Perdue said. “I was shaking a little bit.”

He then contacted his wife and sent her a picture of the recovered ticket.

The couple were excited to show up at lottery headquarters the next day with the winning ticket in hand and walked away with a check for $36,000 after taxes.

The couple plans to pay off bills and may take a trip.

“She asked me last night what I wanted to do with it [winnings],” Perdue said.

“You’ve only had three months to think about it, “ his wife said jokingly.

AM Express will receive $500 for selling the winning ticket.