Winner of $273 Million Gets Two Surprising Calls

Winner of $273 Million Gets Two Surprising Calls

Posted: Tuesday, Apr 23,2019 | Time: 01:33 pm | Edited by: The Lottery Lab Staff

March 8, 2019, an unemployed New Jersey man won a $273 million Mega Millions Jackpot after he forgot his lottery ticket at the store and some stranger found it and returned the winning ticket to him. The winner, Michael J. Weirsky, told the media that he lost his two lottery tickets immediately after he bought them at a QuickChek in Phillipsburg, N.J., on the day before the lottery drawing. He said he was paying attention to his cellphone and laid down the tickets to put his money away.  Then while he did something with his cellphone, he forgot about the tickets and just walked away.

He said he spent hours searching for the tickets when he got to his home in N.J., near the Pennsylvania border. He believed that he must have lost his ticket somewhere in the house.  It was not until the next day that he decided to ask a clerk at the store if anyone had seen them. The clerk returned him the tickets he forgot at the counter. Next day, his mother’s friend called and said one of their mutual friends might have won the jackpot as the winning lottery ticket was confirmed to have been sold in their neighborhood. Hence, he checked his numbers on the lottery app he had on his phone.

After checking, he couldn’t believe he had won and told his mother that he just won the jackpot. “Get out of here” was the reaction his mother gave.  So he did.  He went home and watched TV for an hour or two. When the realization finally sunk in, he got up and went out to confirm whether it was real or not. He went to the nearest lottery store to confirm whether he’d won or not. The clerk verified that he was holding the winning ticket.

Weirsky had been a stay-at-home husband and father for 15 years. He had followed his ex-wife as she moved for her job. But their marriage ended in October, last year. He says that this lottery win will change his life and is the solution to every financial problem he’s been facing. After winning the lottery he got two calls one from his wife and another from a reporter. His ex-wife is not looking to rekindle their romance, instead, she called to inform that she’s taking him to court again. For now, he turned down the reporter’s interview request.

Weirsky says he looks forward to starting a new business or working part-time for his friend who is a handyman. And he’s going to buy a new pickup truck - a Ford Raptor, something he always wanted to own. Then he’s planning to renovate his mother’s house and take a family vacation for some relaxation.