$1 million winning lottery ticket was in winner's vehicle for two months

March 16 (UPI) -- A Kansas lottery player said their ticket for the Holiday Millionaire Raffle sat forgotten in their vehicle for more than two months before they discovered it was a $1 million grant prize winner.

The Osage County resident, who wished to remain anonymous, told Kansas Lottery officials they only bought one ticket for the 2020 Holiday Millionaire Raffle, but bought it early enough so it would be eligible for all three Early Bird drawings.

"I made sure to check my ticket after every Early Bird drawing, but forgot about checking it for the final drawing," the winner recalled. "It was only until today that I saw it in my vehicle's console and thought I'd take it in to check it along with my scratchers."

Scanning the ticket, No. 028244, resulted in the player being told to contact lottery officials in Topeka. The player called the lottery office to check the prize amount and discovered it was the grand prize.

"They told me to sit down before telling me I won $1 million! We were in complete shock and started crying -- we were so happy about the win," the winner said.

They said most of the money will be invested, but some will be put toward a hard-earned vacation.

"This whole thing is like a Cinderella story for us," the winner said. "We're hard workers and we're just so thankful."