$273M NJ Lotto Winner Almost Left Ticket At Store

NEW JERSEY, NJ — The sole winner of a $273 million Mega Millions lottery jackpot has a fellow store-goer to thank for his win, after he accidentally left his winning ticket behind when he bought it.

Michael J. Weirsky, of Alpha, New Jersey, was the only winner of the Friday, March 1 drawing. He bought his ticket at a Phillipsburg QuickChek like he always does— and then forgot the ticket.

At a press conference on Thursday, Weirsky said he left the ticket on the counter after purchasing it. Luckily for him, another lottery player saw the ticket and handed it over to the clerk for safe keeping until Weirsky returned the next day to collect it.

That Friday, Weirsky got the news so few will get: he was a jackpot winner.

"He told his mother who was nearby that he had won the Mega Millions jackpot, but she didn’t believe him. He sat contemplating the reality for a short time and decided he had to get it to the store immediately to confirm. He ventured out in a snowstorm to his closest retailer just to scan the ticket and read the good news in person – it was a jackpot winning ticket!" lottery officials said.

The cash value of the jackpot is $162 million, officials said. The store that sold the ticket, the New Brunswick Avenue QuickChek in Phillipsburg, received a $30,000 sellers bonus.