Couple Win $1 Million Powerball Prize While On Vacation

Out-of-Staters Land Big Win

News broke that a ticket worth $1 million had been sold in Vermont shortly after the draw, and although the Vermont Lottery states that the name and town of a winner is public information, the couple’s details have not yet been released. As a result, little is known about them, but it is known that they won their seven-digit prize while vacationing in the state.

The couple claimed their prize at the Vermont Lottery headquarters in Berlin on Monday 6th August. Lottery spokesperson Jeff Cavender said that they had bought the winning Quick Pick ticket from Clark's Quality Foods in Londonderry, VT, for the August 1st draw, but they didn’t realize they had won until they checked their numbers 48 hours later.

Cavender went on to say that the lucky couple had been planning to leave the state that day, but stuck around to claim their prize, which worked out at around $700,000 after tax. Clark's Quality Foods will receive a 1 percent commission of $10,000 for selling the winning ticket. Marshall Clark, the owner of the store, was in no doubt that it is the biggest winning ticket bought there in the forty years that they have been selling lottery tickets. “Before this, our largest prize was $5,000”, he said.

It is the fourth $1 million-winning ticket to be sold in Vermont, but the state is yet to see its first jackpot winner.

What Happens When You Win a Lottery From a Different State?

You can play Powerball in any participating state, even if you’re not a resident of the United States. Simply find the nearest retailer, fill out a playslip, pay for your ticket, and you’re good to go. Bear in mind, though, that any prizes you win must be claimed in the state in which you bought the ticket, so if you live on the West Coast but buy a ticket from a state on the East Coast, you will have a lot of traveling to do to get ahold of your winnings.

This might not be a problem if you end up winning the Powerball jackpot, as you could hop on the next business class flight safe in the knowledge that money is no object, but it might prove trickier if you win a prize of lesser value.

Some state lotteries allow you to claim your prize by mail, but the rules around this can differ from state to state, so it’s always worth checking before you play. The Florida Lottery, for example, allows you to claim any prize of $250,000 or less by mail, while the New York Lottery states that you can claim prizes of any value by mail. If the risk of losing a ticket worth thousands - or even millions - of dollars in the mail doesn’t dissuade you, this might be the most convenient way to make your claim.