PA woman accidentally donates jacket to charity with winning lottery ticket worth $2.5M inside

6abc Digital Staff Image
Tuesday, April 1, 2025
Pennsylvania woman accidentally donates jacket to charity with $2.5M winning lottery ticket inside
An Allegheny County woman found out she won the lottery -- and then realized she lost the ticket after leaving it in a jacket she donated to charity.

ALLEGHENY COUNTY, Pa. (WPVI) -- An Allegheny County woman found out she won the lottery -- and then realized she lost the ticket after leaving it in an old jacket that she donated to charity.

The winning lottery ticket is worth $2.5 million.

Mildred Simoneriluto says she bought the ticket at a grocery store last May.

Two weeks later, she discovered she had won but couldn't find the ticket.

That's when she remembered she had placed it inside a jacket that she donated to the Vietnam Veterans of America.

"I was stupefied. There's no words for it" Simoneriluto. "How can I get it back?"

The organization donates clothing around the world, so that jacket could be anywhere.

PA lottery officials told Simoneriluto she must have the ticket in person to claim the jackpot.

It expires on May 8.

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