Mega Millions Winner of $273m Nearly Lost Winning Ticket

Mike Weirsky from Phillipsburg in New Jersey, USA, was the Mega Millions Winner of the massive $273m jackpot in the March 2 Mega Millions draw but nearly lost his winning ticket.[caption id="attachment_12097" align=aligncenter width=640] Mega Millions Winner, Mike Weirsky
Photo by Jacqueline Larma/AP/REX/Shutterstock (10146612a)[/caption]The 54-year-old was “messing” with his phone and misplaced his Mega Millions tickets. The day of the draw he realized that he’d left his tickets at the Quick Chek store in Pohatcon Township. He rushed there and was told ‘a Good Samaritan’ had found them and they’d been put in a drawer.Little did he know that just hours later one of his tickets would win a massive $273m jackpot. Weirsky didn’t check his Mega Millions tickets until Sunday evening. His first ticket was a losing one, so he chucked it in the bin. Then he scanned the other on his phone and discovered he was the jackpot winner.His ticket had matched 29-33-39-60-66 and the Mega Ball 21 to win the top prize. He quickly told his mother the amazing news, but she initially thought he was joking. A few hours later he took his ticket to a local Bagelsmith store and the scanner confirmed his massive $273m jackpot win. He returned home and this time his mother believed him.

No more worries

The lucky player received his winnings on Wednesday (March 6) and would love to meet whoever found his tickets. He’s already started spending his Mega Millions windfall. He’s purchased a new Ford Raptor pickup and has an appointment to view a new house on Saturday.The Mega Millions win has come just at the right time as he’s currently unemployed but has been doing some handyman work for a friend. Despite being a multi-millionaire, he’s going to keep doing that until a replacement can be found.After that, he’s unlikely to work again. He joked, "I was a bum in high school, I was a bum after. Maybe I'll be a beach bum now."

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