Kansas veteran spent weekend with $1 million winning Powerball ticket strapped to his chest

TOPEKA, Kan. - An Air Force veteran in Kansas strapped a $1 million winning Powerball ticket to his chest to make sure he wouldn’t lose it before he could cash it in.

Matthew Packebush bought the ticket at a Hutchison Kwik Shop and matched the first five numbers on the June 30 drawing.

He says he went to the store to verify his ticket the night of the drawing, but the results hadn’t been updated yet, so he went home and looked them up online.

"At that point, I was pretty sure I had matched all five numbers,” Pacekbush said. “I decided I had better sign the back of my ticket, but couldn't find a pen anywhere.”

So the 34-year-old drove back to the store and asked for a pen.

He didn’t get any sleep Saturday night, and on Sunday morning, he decided he would need to find a way to ensure he wouldn’t lose his ticket before he could cash it in the next day.

With the ticket firmly in hand, Packebush went to a grocery store, where he bought Ziploc bags and tape and taped the ticket to his chest.

"I didn't want to take a chance of losing it," said Packebush. "That's a lot of money!"

He says he plans to buy a new truck, start college funds for his three children and invest the rest of the winnings into real estate.