Mega Millions ticket worth $1M forgotten in drawer for five months

July 15 (UPI) -- A Rhode Island university president who bought a ticket for a Mega Millions drawing in February didn't discover until months later that it was worth $1 million.

Ioannis Miaoulis, who heads Roger Williams University, said he doesn't buy lottery tickets very often, but he decided to take his shot at the $333 million jackpot in the Feb. 2 Mega Millions drawing.

Miaoulis bought his ticket, bearing the numbers 11-22-42-64-69 and Mega Ball 19, from the Stop & Shop on Metacom Avenue in Bristol.

Miaoulis said he put the ticket in a drawer, and forgot about it for five months -- until he learned that a $1 million ticket from the drawing remained unclaimed.

He was surprised to discover he had matched the first five numbers from the Groundhog Day drawing, earning him a $1 million prize.

Miaoulis said his prize money will be saved for retirement.