Couple Wins $1M Lottery Prize After Discovering Forgotten Tickets in Junk Drawer
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The couple said the tickets had been sitting there since New Year's Eve — and weren't discovered until this month
By Janelle Griffith
Stock photo of Mega Millions lottery ticket
Stock image of a junk drawer and a Mega Millions ticket.
Credit : Getty Stock Images; ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Stock
NEED TO KNOW
A New Jersey couple, who have chosen to remain anonymous, made a profitable discovery after cleaning out a junk drawer in their home
Inside were three tickets purchased on New Year's Eve, one of which was a winner
A spokesperson confirms to PEOPLE that the winners claimed their $1 million lottery prize in recent days
A New Jersey couple made a profitable discovery after cleaning out a junk drawer in their home, finding three forgotten lottery tickets, one of which won them a $1 million prize.
The Mercer County couple, who have chosen to remain anonymous, told lottery officials that the Mega Millions tickets had been sitting there since New Year's Eve — and weren't discovered until this month.
“I was in the house and I just opened the drawer and I saw the tickets," said one lucky winner in a news release. "I decided to get them checked."
A trip to the store revealed one of the three tickets they purchased on New Year's Eve was a winner.
“I scanned them," the player continued. "One said ‘not a winner,’ and then another ‘not a winner,’ and then I scanned a ticket that said ‘winner.’”
Then they went back home and checked the ticket against the winning numbers on the New Jersey Lottery website.
“I thought maybe $1,000. Or $10,000," the player said. "I couldn’t believe it — $1 million!”
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The tickets were sold at the Speedy Mart Food Store in West Trenton, lottery officials said in a news release.
As for what they plan to do with their winnings, the couple said they will use the money to help their children avoid debt.
A New Jersey Lottery spokesperson told PEOPLE.com on Friday that the winners had claimed the prize in recent days.
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