Eric Lopez of Manasses, Va., said his $4 million lottery jackpot was almost left unclaimed when he lost the winning ticket for four months. Photo courtesy of the Virginia Lottery
Lopez said the ticket remained missing until this month, when he found it hiding among a stack of papers in his car while on his lunch break. He scratched off the ticket and was stunned to discover it was a $4 million top prize winner.
"I was kind of ecstatic. I haven't even been sleeping because I've never seen anything like this in my life," he said.
Lopez chose the lump sum option of $2,571,357, which he said he plans to use to pay off his mortgage, pay college tuition for his daughters and possibly start his own business.
