ALBUQUERQUE – An Albuquerque woman who found a misplaced Powerball ticket while cleaning house Wednesday claimed a $200,000 prize from the New Mexico Lottery.
On her quick-pick ticket for the game’s Nov. 19 drawing, Frances Dominguez matched the winning white ball numbers of 9, 16, 17, 28 and 30. She missed landing the night’s $60 million jackpot by not matching the winning red Powerball of 11.
Above: pictured is Frances Dominguez, winner of a Powerball ticket.
Dominguez came across the ticket in a drawer where she empties her pockets before putting clothes in the laundry. She learned the ticket was worth $200,000 when she took it to lottery headquarters in Albuquerque.
“I started crying like crazy,” she said. “My legs felt like they didn’t want to hold me up.”
Dominguez said that before she spends any of the cash prize on herself, she will make a 10 percent donation to her church. Then the winner plans to pay off her home loan and splurge on a big Christmas for her children and grandchildren.
Dominguez’ lucky Powerball ticket came from Pump-N-Save No. 35 located at 4321 Coors Blvd. SW in Albuquerque. Previously, the store has sold 15 large prize-winning lottery tickets ranging between $1,000 and $25,000.
Legislative Lottery College Scholarships
Since 1996, the New Mexico Lottery has raised $501 million for education and more than 75,300 students have attended college on Legislative Lottery Scholarships. As of the Spring 2011 semester, 23,000 students from Bernalillo County have received $143.3 million in Legislative Lottery Scholarships.