Man finds $24 million lottery ticket in his shirt right before the winning numbers expired

It’s a story of procrastination that could have been a $24 million tragedy. For an entire year, the New York Gaming Commission had been searching for the mystery winner of a $24.1 million New York Lotto jackpot, sold in May 2016. As the one-year deadline to claim the prize approached, they launched a media blitz.

"A lucky New Yorker has a $24 million Lotto payday just waiting — but the winner has to act fast as time is running out," Gweneth Dean, director of the commission's Division of the Lottery, said in a statement reported by The Washington Post. "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."

That televised plea happened to be seen by Jimmie Smith, a 68-year-old retired security guard from East Orange, New Jersey. Smith was an avid lottery player, buying tickets in both New York and New Jersey since the 1960s. His one quirk? He rarely checked them.

A hand holds several lottery ticketsCanva

“I always told myself, ‘I’ll check them when I have the time,'" Smith later said.

This time, the news report spurred him to action. He went to his closet, where an old shirt hung stuffed with a "pile" of unchecked tickets. "I ended up with a stack - a pile of tickets, including the one they were talking about on the news," he told lottery officials.

He began checking the numbers. Sure enough, his ticket from a TriBeCa bodega matched the winning line: 5, 12, 13, 22, 25, and 35. He had found it just two days before it was set to expire.

"Simpsons" gif of newscaster winning the lotto via Giphy

The shock was immediate. "I stood there for a minute thinking, ‘Do I see what I think I see?'” he told NJ.com. “I had to stick my head out the window and breathe some fresh air. I was in serious doubt. I really had to convince myself this was real.”

As The Washington Post noted, Smith claimed his prize, then "promptly disappeared" for five months before reappearing to finalize the paperwork. He ultimately chose to receive his $24.1 million in installments paid out over 26 years.

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This article was originally published last year.