(KGTV) - The winner of a $150.4 million Powerball jackpot had the winning ticket in his wallet for two weeks before finally checking the numbers.
Salem resident Steven Nickell told Oregon Lottery officials that he bought tickets for the June 20 drawing at a Circle K store and then placed them in his wallet without immediately looking at the numbers.
Nickell said when he finally scanned his tickets, he thought he won at least $600.
Nickell said, “When the clerk told me that wins over $600 have to go to the Lottery office, I thought I could buy my wife something nice for the 4th of July. I had no idea that ticket was worth $150 million!”
Once Nickell got home, he checked the numbers again and “couldn’t stop shaking.”
After telling his wife about the ticket, the couple immediately hired a financial planner and lawyer. The Nickells chose the lump sum payment of $61 million (after taxes, of course) and said they plan to be very careful with their winnings.
Nickell said he initially felt guilty about the win, but “then I realized that I’m the guy that gets to stand up and say BINGO! We all play the game, it just so happens I’m the guy who got to win this time.”
Nickell’s win is the third-largest lottery victory in Oregon since the start of the Oregon Lottery in 1984. It is the fifth time a Powerball jackpot-winning ticket was sold in the state of Oregon.
