US Air Force Veteran is a lottery winner but almost missed out on the $6.5m jackpot

An Air Force veteran lottery winner almost didn’t get to collect his $6.5m jackpot win.His granddaughter almost threw the ticket away after checking the wrong lottery results.

A case of mistaken lottery identity

William Bowker, 94, is a regular lottery player. His granddaughter checked his latest ticket for him, but mistakenly thought it was a Mega Millions ticket and not a Megabucks ticket.After checking the numbers, she told her grandfather that he hadn’t won. The veteran lottery winner decided to double-check the results though.“I thought I should double-check it before throwing it away,” said Mr Bowker, from Oregon. “I am glad I did. I immediately thought – BOOM! I won!”Once the veteran discovered that the ticket was actually a winner, he called a family meeting. He said that he wanted to discuss the prize with his family and decide how to use it together.

Time to look after his family

“I have what I need, and I’m 94,” the lottery winner said. “This is a wonderful way to help my family.”The veteran lottery winner could have received an annuity option on his winnings. Instead, he opted to take home the one-time payment worth $3.25 million.The winning ticket was purchased from Jackson’s Food Store in Happy Valley, Oregon. The nationwide company said that Mr Bowker’s winning Megabucks ticket is the largest winner it has ever sold in the state.The winning numbers were 14 - 32 - 41 - 43 - 44 - 47. The store will receive a bonus of $65,000 for selling the winning ticket.

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