Man Almost Throws Away Winning Mega Million Ticket Sold In SoCal

NEWPORT BEACH, CA — A Mega Millions ticket purchased on a whim almost ended up in the trash, but instead turned into a $1 million win for the owner.

Joaquin Vaughn Redo was traveling through California with his family when they stopped at a Pavilions on Newport Coast Drive in Newport Beach last August. Redo grabbed a Mega Millions ticket along with the family's groceries, a routine family tradition when jackpots grow.

“We play Mega Millions and Powerball when we see the pot’s growing or something,” Vaughn Redo told lottery officials. “When the pot’s big enough, the whole family gets excited and puts in whatever bites.”

Several days passed and the family forgot about the ticket until it was found two weeks later.

"I was actually kind of going to throw them away, because I said ‘I’ve never won the lottery,’” Vaughn Redo said

He decided to check anyway and then found himself in “a kind of disbelief” that he was looking
at the right numbers, the Californa Lottery announced. He was so shocked, he need other people to read the numbers back to him twice to confirm.

However, after checking the numbers, Vaughn Redo realized that he had matched five numbers in the Aug. 16 2024 drawing, missing only the Mega number. His nearly tossed ticket was worth $1,016,356!.

The Mega Millions ticket will help Vaugh Redo with a down payment on a home, lottery officials said.

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