Mega Millions player forgets about ticket — and nearly throws out a $1 million winner

A spur-of-the-moment purchase of a Mega Millions ticket left a lucky $1 million winner in “a kind of disbelief,” California Lottery officials said.

But it almost didn’t happen.

Joaquin Vaughn Redo and his family bought the ticket during a stop in Newport Beach while driving across California, the lottery said in a Wednesday, March 26, news release.

“We play Mega Millions and Powerball when we see the pot’s growing or something,” Vaughn Redo said in the release. “When the pot’s big enough, the whole family gets excited and puts in whatever bites.”

But then the excitement of the trip intervened, and the family forgot about the ticket until they found it again two weeks later.

“I was actually kind of going to throw them away, because I said ‘I’ve never won the lottery,’” Vaughn Redo said. Then he decided to check it first anyway.

He won $1,016,356 by matching five numbers but not the Mega Ball in the Aug. 16 drawing, lottery officials said.

Vaughn Redo said he had to have others read the numbers back to him before he could believe that he actually won.

He plans to use the money for a down payment on a house, lottery officials said.

An Illinois player hit the latest $344 million Mega Millions jackpot on Tuesday, March 25.

What to know about Mega Millions

To score the jackpot in Mega Millions, a player must match all five white balls and the gold Mega Ball. The odds of scoring a jackpot prize are 1 in 302,575,350.

Tickets cost $2 and can be bought on the day of the drawing, but sales times vary by state. Officials have announced they will cost $5 starting in April.

Drawings are held Tuesdays and Fridays at 11 p.m. ET and can be streamed online.

Mega Millions is played in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

This story was originally published March 26, 2025 at 2:31 PM with the headline "Mega Millions player forgets about ticket — and nearly throws out a $1 million winner."