Mechanicsville woman claims lottery prize

After letting it sit in a napkin holder for six months, Lydia Burke yesterday found better use for her winning lottery ticket, claiming her $250,000 prize eight hours before it expired.

Burke, 62, of Mechanicsville, collected her check for the March 27 Mega Millions drawing at 9 a.m. yesterday. It would have expired at 5 p.m., 180 days after it was drawn.

On Wednesday, Burke saw on the news that a Mega Millions ticket purchased at a 7-Eleven on Staples Mill Road was about to expire.

"I was looking at 'Oprah,' and after she went off, the news came on talking about a lottery ticket," she said. "I remembered buying a few tickets there, so I thought I'd better check."

Burke, who had bought five tickets when the jackpot reached $34 million, had placed them in a napkin holder in the kitchen and forgotten about them.

"I looked, and the first one was the winner," she said. "I screamed, I really did."

Her ticket matched the first five numbers but missed the Mega Ball number, so she took the second prize. The winning numbers for that drawing were 10-15-24-38-50 and the Mega Ball number was 19.

When her husband, Gregory, arrived home from work, Burke and her sister tried telling him the good news, but they were met with skepticism.

"He shook his hand and said, 'No, you're joking. You all aren't going to get me this time,'" she said with a laugh.

As for the money, Burke says it will cover both business and pleasure.

"Like most people in this economy, I plan on trying to take care of a couple bills," she said.

But after that -- Vegas, baby.

"I want to take my husband on a vacation. It's been six years," she said.

Contact Wesley P. Hester at (804) 649-6976 or .