Old woman sadly loses $2.5 million jackpot — her winning ticket was inside the jacket she donated
In an unbelievable incident, an elderly woman lost her $2.5 million lottery ticket after she accidentally donated the jacket that had her winning ticket. What was supposed to be a simple act of kindness turned into a nightmare for the lady. Mildred Simoneriluto, a 76-year-old from Monroeville, Pennsylvania, has a deadline of May 8, 2025, to claim her $2.5 million lottery prize, as per ABC News. She purchased a Cash 5 lottery ticket at a grocery store in Murrysville in May last year. However, lottery officials are now insisting on having the physical ticket, which could currently be anywhere across the world.
Two weeks after purchasing the ticket, she was shocked to discover that she had matched all five numbers: 14-22-33-35-38, as reported by The Mirror. However, she soon recalled that she had put the ticket into a jacket, which she had donated to the Vietnam Veterans of America as an act of kindness. As reported by People Magazine, speaking about this in an interview, Simoneriluto said, "I was stupefied; there are no words for it, there's no expression. How can I get it back? What else can I do? Cry out loud and hope that something will happen positively on my end?"
In the interview, she also explained that she deliberately put the ticket into her jacket to keep it safe and ensure she wouldn’t forget it. Since she lost it, she has made several trips back to the grocery store where she bought the ticket, hoping to find a solution. Simoneriluto said, “I went to Shop n’ Save about 100 times, and they said there’s nothing they can do.” Several social media users offered their words of support to Simoneriluto in the comment section. One YouTube user, @nichescenes, commented, “All fairness, I'd feel awful if I took her ticket. The best I can do is half. Jokes aside, hope she gets better luck soon. She might have maxed out on this timeline.”
Another person, who goes by the username @rumpstatefiasco, wrote, “She made a tragic mistake, which is too often part of being human.” A third YouTube user, @D.Townsend-r8q, suggested, “I do feel bad for her. But it's a near certainty she will not get it back. I'd recommend she just forget it and move on.” Meanwhile, in a separate yet equally unfortunate story, a woman from Texas missed out on her lottery winnings for a different reason. The anonymous woman allegedly spent $20 on Texas lottery tickets through a third-party app called Jackpocket.
To her surprise, she hit the $83.5 million jackpot, as reported by The Independent. A week after her win, the lottery officials launched an investigation into two big wins, suspecting possible money laundering. The woman even traveled to the lottery’s headquarters in Austin, hoping to claim her prize, but was turned away without it. The woman said, “I've gone through frustration and being sad and stressed, and now I'm just angry." She spoke about this while talking to the Austin American-Statesman in front of her lawyer.