Oblivious winner finds forgotten $242,256 lottery ticket in his wallet

May 9 (UPI) -- A Michigan Lottery player said he was unaware of his $242,256 jackpot until he came across some forgotten tickets in his wallet.

The 65-year-old Oakland County man told Michigan Lottery officials he decided to buy some tickets for the April 30 Fantasy 5 drawing from the BP gas station in Clawson after making note of the large jackpot.

"When I was cashing out at the gas station, I saw the Fantasy 5 jackpot was over $200,000, so I decided to purchase a few tickets," the man said.

The player said the drawing passed without his paying attention to the results.

"I forgot I had purchased the tickets until I saw them in my wallet a few days later," he said.

The man checked his tickets using the Michigan Lottery app and was shocked to see a ticket bearing the numbers 14-16-25-29-39 had won the $242,256 jackpot.

"I couldn't believe what I was seeing," the winner recalled. "I decided to get on my computer and check the numbers on the lottery website to make sure there wasn't a glitch on the app. When I confirmed the numbers a second time and saw that the winning ticket was purchased in Clawson, it finally sunk in that I won. Winning is an excellent feeling!"

The winner said he plans to use his jackpot to start college funds for his grandchildren and bolster his retirement savings.