An Oregon man gave himself the world’s greatest Christmas gift — and he didn’t even know it.
A friend convinced Wilbur Brown to purchase a “26 for $25” Megabucks ticket on Christmas Eve. The ticket allowed him to buy 26 straight drawings for $25.
But Mr. Brown forgot about the ticket after a while.
“After the first few drawings, I’d check my ticket,” Mr. Brown told the Oregon Lottery. “Then I just kind of forgot about it and wasn’t checking.”
In February, Mr. Brown returned to where he purchased the ticket — the Moose Lodge in Springfield, Oregon — and remembered he still had it.
When Brown scanned his ticket on a self-check terminal, he received a “see customer service” message. After a server rechecked the ticket, the message “large lottery winner” appeared.
Mr. Brown took the 30-year annuity option and will receive an annual check of just over $200,000 after taxes. He has set up a trust for the money.