$5.9M NJ Lottery Ticket Nearly Expired – Here's Where The Winner Found It

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — He was eight days away from losing $5.9 million.

A lottery player in New Jersey recently turned in a winning Pick-6 ticket, nearly a year after the drawing – and just over a week before it expired, officials reported Thursday.

The ticket was sold on May 22 at the Eisenhower Exxon station in Roseland.

According to the New Jersey Lottery, when an announcement was made in late April that the ticket was unclaimed and at risk of expiring, the lucky winner saw the news and decided to talk to the employees of the store where the ticket was purchased – a frequent stop for him.

While they didn’t know for sure who the winner was, they knew that only a few of their regular players opted for Pick-6 as their game of choice and told him to double-check everything.

He did – and it was a life-changing decision.

The player went back and searched his house again, looking in every spot he might have missed earlier. Knowing that a $5.9 million prize payout could be on the line, he checked every corner before finally going through his closet and checking every pants pocket possible. After checking a few pairs of pants, he finally found a crumpled Pick-6 ticket.

When he brought it to the New Jersey Lottery office on May 14, the ticket was a mere eight days away from expiring.

“While jackpot prizes going unclaimed is rare, many small tickets sit unclaimed in drawers and pockets for months or years when they could be redeemed for cash,” lottery officials said.

This happened in 2017, when a retired security officer and grandfather of 12 in Essex County found a $24.1 million winning lottery ticket tucked away in an old shirt.

• Related: New Jersey Grandfather Finds $24M Lottery Ticket In Old Shirt

“As always, the New Jersey Lottery reminds players to check their tickets,” spokespeople said.

Tickets can be scanned at any New Jersey Lottery retail location or with any phone camera using the NJ Lottery app. Ticket numbers can also be entered manually online here.

• Related: Quirky Powerball Drawing Just Made 18 Millionaires In New Jersey

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