Oregon Man Wins $9 Million After Forgetting About Lottery Ticket

SPRINGFIELD, OR — An Oregon man who forgot about lottery tickets he bought Christmas Eve learned this month that he was about $9 million wealthier.

Wilbur Brown was with some friends at the Moose Lodge in Springfield, about 4 east of Eugene, on Christmas Even when a friend showed him how to buy a single Megabucks ticket for 26 consecutive drawings for $25. Brown was not aware of the “26 for $25” option, and bought one, too.

Brown, of Springfield, tucked the ticket into his billfold. The ticket covered drawings over 13 weeks from Dec. 25 to Feb. 19.

“After the first few drawings, I’d check my ticket,” Brown told the Oregon Lottery. “Then I just kind of forgot about it and wasn’t checking.”

While at the lodge again in February, he remembered the ticket. Brown scanned the ticket on a self-check terminal at the Lodge and a message popped up: “See Customer Service."

Not knowing what that meant exactly, Brown gave the server his ticket to scan. This time, he got a new message: “Large Lottery Winner.”

Still not sure what he won, Brown and his friends, who were sitting with them at the lodge, scoured the internet for the results using their phones.

They soon learned Brown was a very large lottery winner, as he'd won the $8.9-million jackpot in the Jan. 29 drawing. Brown's prize came on the eighth drawing of his 26-drawing ticket, with the winning numbers of 15, 33, 34, 40, 42, and 47.

He took the 30-year annuity option for his prize and picked up his first check at the lottery office in Salem on March 8. After taxes, he will receive a check every year for slightly more than $200,000. Brown set up a trust for his winnings.

Additionally, the Moose Lodge was to receive a retailer selling bonus of $89,000, or 1 percent of the jackpot.

“The last couple of years have been a challenge for us,” said Michael Scott, manager of the lodge, told the Oregon Lottery. “The influence of receiving such a big chunk of change is huge! We’ll be working with our members to figure out the best way to use the bonus money.

Now, all of Brown's friends are buying the "26 for $25" Megabucks tickets deal.