Oregon man wins $8.9 million from forgotten lottery ticket

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.