News writer
It may have taken him months to notice the win, but a lucky Rhode Island Lottery player is now enjoying the $1 million Mega Millions winning ticket he just found and cashed in!
The winning ticket
Ioannis Miaoulis, president of Roger Williams University, bought the winning ticket for the February 2 Mega Millions drawing, which had a jackpot of $333 million for that night. He bought the ticket while at Stop & Shop, located at 605 Metacom Ave. in Bristol.
Mialoulis knows the odds of winning the lottery are massive, so he told Lottery officials he doesn't play that often.
He said:
But it's kind of fun once in a while to get a ticket. You buy a dream for $10.
He went into it with not a lot of faith in winning anymore, so Miaoulis said he put the ticket in a seldom-used drawer and quickly forgot about it.
The winning white ball numbers for that February 2 drawing were 11, 22, 42, 64, and 69, with the Mega Ball number being 18.
When that Groundhog Day drawing took place, it turns out Miaoulis matched all five of the white balls but just missed out on matching the Mega Ball — his ticket had the number 19!
Since he matched all five of the white ball numbers, Miaoulis qualified for a second prize of $1 million.
The winner finally checked his ticket months later
While the winning ticket sat safely in his seldom-used drawer, Miaoulis noticed that the prize was unclaimed from the location where he buys his lottery tickets. He decided to go into the drawer and check his ticket.
Thankfully, it was still in the drawer, and his ticket definitely matched the five white ball numbers, so he was a $1 million winner.
Claiming his winnings
After discovering the win, it didn't take Miaoulis as long to claim his prize. He headed to the Rhode Island Lottery headquarters recently with his daughter to cash it in. After withholding taxes, he took home about $700,100.
What do you do after getting a check for that amount? Miaoulis and his daughter went to a nearby sushi restaurant to celebrate!
He told state lottery officials:
My daughter couldn't believe I had lunch with that check in my pocket.
After they ate lunch, he then went to the bank and deposited the money.
No retirement plans for this winner
While the lottery win was a nice win, Miaoulis said he has no plans to retire quite yet. He even told officials if he would have matched that Mega Ball and won the jackpot, he would have kept working.
He said he plans on donating some of his winnings to his favorite charity, the university, and share some with his family. The rest of the money will go to his retirement fund, which will be happening in six years, a date he had picked before winning the lottery.
Enjoy playing the Rhode Island Lottery, and please remember to play responsibly.
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