The drawer that held a million dollars Drawing Date: 12/31/2024 Ticket set aside for five months turns out to be big winner! May 23, 2025 - Check those junk drawers. You never know what you might find. A couple of batteries for the remote, a rubber band, a pen with a missing cap or, maybe, a million dollars. A Mercer County, N.J.,, couple bought a few Mega Millions tickets back on New Year’s Eve during a visit to the Speedymart Food Store in West Trenton. After returning home, they set the ticket aside and didn’t think much about it until a recent day in May. “I was in the house and I just opened the drawer and I saw the tickets. I decided to get them checked,” the player said, reflecting on a return visit to the store. “I scanned them. One said ‘not a winner,’ and then another ‘not a winner,’ and then I scanned a ticket that said ‘winner.’” The player took the ticket back home and checked the ticket against the numbers on the New Jersey Lottery website, and saw they had matched the five white balls. But they still weren’t sure what they were seeing. “I thought maybe $1,000. Or $10,000. I couldn’t believe it – $1 million?!?” There was no danger of the ticket expiring as New Jersey Lottery winners have one year from the date of the drawing to file a claim before the ticket expires. The found money will go to good use. “For us, it’s more about helping the children, making sure they don’t have debt,” the couple said. Heading into tonight’s drawing, the jackpot for the recently updated Mega Millions game has crept up to $154 million.