A Forgotten Lottery Ticket Fell Out of a Sun Visor. It Was Worth $30,000.

MOUNT AIRY, Md., Oct. 23, 2026 — Plenty of people keep receipts, parking stubs and old napkins in their car's sun visor. One Maryland man kept a $30,000 lottery ticket there for weeks without knowing it, the Maryland Lottery and UPI reported.

The man, who wasn't named, bought a Mega Millions ticket on a whim on Oct. 2 at a 7-Eleven on Ridgeside Drive in Mount Airy, the Lottery said. He tucked it into the visor and got on with his day.

## The Visor Gives It Back

A few weeks later, while he was getting gas, the ticket fell out of the visor and into his lap. He was curious but didn't expect much, so he checked the numbers on the Maryland Lottery app.

He had matched four of the five numbers, but he wasn't sure that counted for anything. "Is it still a winner?" he remembered wondering, according to the Lottery.

He took it back to the 7-Eleven where he bought it, and the clerk gave him the news: the ticket was worth $30,000.

"If it was 600 bucks, great," he said, as quoted by the Lottery, recalling how little he expected.

## The Roommate Wake-Up Call

He went straight home to tell his roommate, who was just waking up from a nap. "I got some news for you," he told her.

"I sat up so fast," the roommate recalled to the Lottery. "What?"

She offered to drive him to Lottery headquarters in Baltimore, because he prefers to avoid highways. He claimed the prize on Oct. 21, according to the Lottery.

## Plans for the Money

He plans to set most of it aside for a rainy day, the Lottery said, but he may treat his roommate to dinner to say thanks for the ride. His two dogs, a German shepherd and a schnauzer mix, won't get a special bonus, he said, because they're already spoiled.

The Lottery noted he usually only plays when the jackpots get huge. With the Mega Millions jackpot at an advertised $433 million for Friday's drawing, he picked a good time to check his visor.

> What We Know
> - Where bought: 7-Eleven, Ridgeside Drive, Mount Airy, Maryland, on Oct. 2
> - Where it went: Tucked into his car's sun visor, then forgotten
> - How it turned up: Fell into his lap weeks later at a gas station
> - The win: Four of five numbers, for $30,000
> - Claimed: Oct. 21 at Lottery headquarters in Baltimore

Reported by Maryland Lottery, UPI

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