NJ couple finds long forgotten lottery ticket worth $1M in junk drawer

New York Post

24-05-2025

There's not just junk in this drawer!
A junk drawer find has changed the lives of an absentminded New Jersey couple forever.
A couple sifting through the often overlooked drawer in their Mercer County home came across three Mega Millions tickets they had purchased on New Year's Eve from a West Trenton Speedymart Food Store.
They forgot about the lottery tickets, so they never checked the numbers to see if they had won.
3 The couple bought the winning ticket on New Year's Eve.
AP
That changed earlier this month — thanks to some spring cleaning.
'I just opened the drawer and I saw the tickets,' said one of the winners, who've chosen to remain anonymous.
'I decided to get them checked. I scanned them. One said 'not a winner,' and then another 'not a winner,' and then I scanned a ticket that said 'winner.''
3 Two of the three lottery tickets were duds.
AP
The ticket was worth $1 million.
The winning ticket was not in danger of expiring.
In New Jersey, lottery winners have one year from the date of the drawing to file a claim.
3 The winners will use the money to make sure their kids are debt-free.
Christopher Sadowski
The couple already know what they'll be doing with this sudden influx of cashola.
'For us, it's more about helping the children, making sure they don't have debt,' the couple said.