Man ‘kind of forgot’ tickets for 26 lottery draws in Oregon — and won $8.9 million

A “26 for $25” Megabucks ticket turned out to be a good investment for a Springfield, Oregon, man, lottery officials said.

But it almost didn’t happen.

Wilbur Brown bought the ticket, covering 26 consecutive lottery draws over 13 weeks, at a Moose Lodge in Springfield the day before Christmas, a lottery news release said.

He’d never bought one before a friend purchased one, but he decided to give it a try, Brown said. At first, he was dutiful about checking the winning numbers.

“After the first few drawings, I’d check my ticket,” Brown said. “Then I just kind of forgot about it and wasn’t checking.”

On a return visit to the Moose Lodge in February, Brown remembered the drawings and pulled his ticket out to check for the winning numbers.

A self-check machine told him to “see customer service.” That’s when he learned he’d won $8.9 million on Jan. 29, lottery officials said.

Brown elected to take his winnings as a 30-year annuity, entitling him to about $200,000 a year after taxes. He’s set up a trust fund for the money.

The Moose Lodge will receive $89,000 for selling the winning ticket, which the manager said will be a welcome benefit after some challenging recent years.

This story was originally published March 15, 2022 at 4:36 PM with the headline "Man ‘kind of forgot’ tickets for 26 lottery draws in Oregon — and won $8.9 million."