An unemployed Trenton, New Jersey man won a $273 million Mega Millions jackpot said he accidentally left the lottery ticket at the store... but a good Samaritan returned it to the store. He wants to find that good Samaritan and reward him or her.
54-year-old Mike Weirsky bought the tickets the day before the drawing at a Quick Check store in Phillipsburg and accidentally forgot them there because he was looking on his smartphone. Another customer found the ticket and returned it to the store to hang on to. When Weirsky returned to the store on that Friday, he was able to verify that the tickets were indeed his.
It's crazy to think that the good Samaritan who originally found the tickets could have claimed the jackpot... fair and square.
Lottery officials said Thursday that if the person who found the tickets had held onto them and signed them, they could have claimed the jackpot.
Weirsky had been a stay-at-home husband for years but got divorced last fall. He tried to look for work but never got any calls back from potential employers UNTIL the Wednesday before he won the lottery. But by then, work was pretty much optional.
Weirsky, usually bets $2 each time he plays the lottery and couldn't believe his eyes when he realized that he had the winning numbers the Sunday after the drawing. He immediately went back to the store he bought the ticket from during the snowstorm and got the confirmation.
His ex-wife plans on taking him back to court and has already reached out to him after his lottery win. Whether she gets any of that prize money we'll have to wait and see.
Weirsky plans on buying a new pickup truck, a car for his mom. He also wants to remodel her current home.
"After that, I'm basically locked into what my lawyer and other people I have working for me tell me I can do," Weirsky said.