New Jersey man nearly forgets winning $273M lottery ticket

ALPHA, N.J. (FOX 29) - A New Jersey man has been identified as the winner of the $273 million Mega Millions jackpot.

Michael J. Weirsky made his appearance at the Lottery Headquarters in Trenton, New Jersey on Thursday afternoon to claim his massive winning.

The ticket Weirsky purchased was sold at a New Jersey convenience store last Thursday. Weirsky said that he nearly lost his winning ticket when he went home without them.

He attributed being distracted by his phone to leaving the lottery tickets he purchased on the counter at the convenience store.

A good Samaritan turned the tickets in to make sure that Weirsky received them.

Weirsky says he plans on buying his dream pickup truck, taking family on a vacation, and perhaps helping out some friend's businesses.

"I'm not going to be greedy. I'm going to help people," Weirsky said.

The recently divorced lottery winner says that he was "way down but now I'm way up."

It was the only winning ticket for Fridays' Mega Millions drawing. After taxes, Weirsky's lump sum will equate to approximately $159 million.

The next Mega Millions drawing will be held on March 5th. The jackpot currently sits at $40 million.