Month later, Illinois woman learns she had lottery winner

ST. LOUIS -- An Illinois woman who bought a lottery ticket in Missouri is the winner of a $1 million prize, but it took about a month before she knew it.

Lottery officials say 57-year-old Debra Almonroeder of Godfrey, Ill., had five winning numbers in the Aug. 4 Powerball drawing. The numbers were 19, 30, 48, 53 and 55. She purchased her winning ticket at Safi Amoco in St. Louis while on her way to work.

Almonroeder didn't realize she had a winning ticket. She heard about the unclaimed prize and checked old tickets stacked next to her computer. That's when she found she had a winner.