Oregon finds $1 million winning lottery ticket while cleaning office

PORTLAND – An Oregon Lottery winner has claimed his $1 million prize after cleaning out his office and discovering the winning ticket he purchased a year ago.

The Oregonian/OregonLive reported Joemel Panisa, of Logsden, found the Mega Millions ticket this month, just eight days before it was set to expire.

Lottery officials say Panisa put the ticket in an envelope in January 2016 and forgot about it. He had been cleaning his office when he discovered the ticket, checked the numbers and found out he was a winner.

Panisa claimed his prize this week, becoming the state’s fourth Mega Millions $1 million winner since the game began in 2010.

The Oregon Lottery says nearly $6 million in unclaimed prizes were transferred to the state’s Economic Development Fund in fiscal year 2015.