Davenport Man Nearly Throws Away $10,000-Winning Lotto Ticket
Jordan Miller Claims Mega Millions® Prize
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CLIVE, Iowa — A Davenport man nearly lost out on his $10,000 lottery prize, but a last-second decision saved his winnings.
"I never came so close to throwing away $10,000 in my life," Jordan Miller said on Thursday as he claimed his prize at the lottery's Cedar Rapids regional office.
He bought his winning Mega Millions ticket on Christmas Eve at Smokin' Joe's, 1606 W. Locust St. in Davenport, the night of the gigantic $1 billion drawing.
Miller said he woke up the next morning to see that nobody had won the jackpot, so he didn't even bother to check his ticket. He let that ticket sit on his fridge and didn't think about it again until a couple weeks later.
"I was getting ready to go do errands when I saw it sitting there. I was going to throw it away because I thought it was junk," Miller said. "I remembered I had the lottery app on my phone so I decided to scan it real quick. It popped up and said I won $10,000."
Miller inspected his ticket and realized he matched four of five white balls and the Mega Ball in the Dec. 24 drawing.
"I was one number off," he said.
Miller, 31, works as a firefighter and said he and his wife will use some of the winnings to travel this year. He said the remainder will go into savings.
Miller said he usually plays Mega Millions when the jackpots get really big, and has learned a valuable lesson for next time.
"Always check your ticket," he said.
Mega Millions drawings are on Tuesdays and Fridays. For more information, visit www.ialottery.com.
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