A man finds a $24 million lottery ticket in an old shirt -- just in the nick of time

CNN ^ | October 14, 2017 | Amanda Watts

[EdnaMode]

Everyone has that spot in their house or car where they let the mail and receipts pile up.

For 68-year old Jimmie Smith, it was an old shirt hanging in his closet. Stuffed in its pockets was a stack of unchecked lottery tickets. "I always told myself, 'I'll check them when I have the time,'" the New Jersey man said.

It's a good thing he did. Because had he waited two days longer, he'd have lost out on $24.1 million.

More than a year ago, Smith bought a ticket to the New York Lotto. The winning numbers for the May 25, 2016 drawing were: 05 - 12 - 13 - 22 - 25 - 35.

The New York Gaming Commission knew the winning ticket, worth $24.1 million, was sold at a bodega in New York City -- but it didn't know who bought the ticket.

Winners have a year to claim the prize and that expiration day was quickly approaching.

So earlier this year, the New York Lottery started to get the word out. "We urge New York Lottery players: Check your pockets. Check your glove box. Look under the couch cushions. If you have this winning ticket, we look forward to meeting you," Gweneth Dean, director of the Commission's Division of the Lottery, said at the time.

[TheCipher]

... Though for something that large, they may go to an annuity.