In the city of Portland, an unexpected heroine emerged from within the comfortable confines of a homely kitchen. Tucked away in a Tupperware container mingling with old store vouchers and forgotten receipts was the mystical key to millionaire status; an overlooked lottery ticket that held the golden promise of a $1-million prize. The fortunate discoverer was none other than Leslie Carr, a medical receptionist with a fortune just waiting to be cashed in.
The 52-year-old lady found herself standing nonchalantly inside a bustling Fred Meyer store located in the suburban sprawl of Happy Valley, Oregon. Here, the real drama would unfurl. As she walked to the counter with the ancient ticket dated back to the Oregon Lottery Raffle, she was all set to join exclusive winners club.
Unknown to her, Leslie had been sitting on a goldmine since March 15, over a month before she happened upon it. “I had no idea I was the winner,” a baffled Leslie admitted. Only the recent buzz around the whopping billion-dollar Powerball winner made her revisit the forgotten ticket pile. “We don’t usually check our tickets,” she wryly confessed, referencing the recent Powerball jackpot winner who had recently landed the record-breaking $1.3-billion prize.
As the store employee, a man accustomed to a humdrum till operation, scanned the neglected ticket among several Leslie possessed, his face paled. Stunned, he announced, rather weakly, “Oh, I can’t cash this because your prize is worth over $1,000.” Suddenly, the prospect of becoming a bona fide millionaire sent butterflies cartwheeling through Leslie’s stomach.
With the confirmation of her newly acquired millionaire status, Leslie and her husband are elated at how dramatically their lives are set to change. Top priorities on their newest agenda include paying off their mortgage and turning their long-standing dreams into reality. Leslie called this an unexpected windfall nothing short of a “dream-come-true.” A shiny new truck and a relaxing vacation in the paradise of Hawaii are next in her wishlist.
The odds for raffle players winning a whopping $1 million in the Oregon Lottery are a daunting one in 250,000, according to the Oregon Lottery’s website. Yet Leslie Carr, the medical receptionist from Portland, proves that hiding within their Tupperware could be the unassuming ticket to unimaginable wealth.
