How Close Have You Come to Losing $273 Million?

A New Jersey man who hit the Mega Millions jackpot came very close to not being able to collect it.

According the New Jersey Lottery website, the winner of the sole winning ticket is Michael J. Weirsky.

Weirsky bought two tickets at the QuickChek in Pohatcong and absent-mindedly left them at the store. A person who can only be described as a “Good Samaritan” found the tickets and gave them to the store clerk who put them in a drawer at the store. Would the Samaritan have been so “Good” if he/she had known they were holding $273 million in their hand? How about the clerk? Well, the clerk probably would have gotten in trouble, what with surveillance cameras everywhere.

Anyway, Weirsky returned the next day and got his tickets, then forgot to check them until Sunday when he discovered he had hit the big prize. The Alpha native told Fox News that he’s planning on becoming a beach bum.