THEDAILYNET.COM / BEST OF THE INTERNET

Oregon man cleaning his office finds an old envelope — with a million dollar secret hidden inside

The man had not realized that a seemingly ordinary envelope he found would catapult his life into a whole new direction.

BY TIYASA BISWAS

PUBLISHED 18 HOURS AGO

Senior man talking on smart phone and using laptop while working at office. (Representative Cover Image Source: Getty Images | mixetto)

Since historic times, we have known treasures lay hidden somewhere underground amidst a dense jungle with the looming dangers of the wild. Well, a man from Oregon did not even have to step out of work to find one. When he decided to clean up his office, he had no idea that his life would change forever after discovering an envelope. Joemel Panisa was rummaging through his things when his eyes fell on the mysterious envelope lying around. Opening it, his face lit up with joy as he pulled out a $1 million lottery ticket, Oregon Lottery revealed, per TIME Magazine.

Man cleaning his office desk. (Representative Image Source: Getty Images | Warchi)

Panisa was shocked to find an unclaimed winning lottery ticket he had purchased the year before. While one would expect it to have expired, the man thanked his lucky stars when he realized the Mega Millions winning ticket was still eight days away from invalidation. He later talked to the lottery officials, detailing his purchase on January 13, 2016, for a drawing to be held two days later. Somehow, the man had tucked it away in an envelope and left it to be forgotten for a year. On January 9, 2017, Panisa drove to the lottery office and finally claimed his prize and returned home a millionaire. The ticket was set for an expiration date on January 17.

An office employee opening an envelope. (Representative Image Source: Getty Images | Fizkes)

If unclaimed, the lottery ticket could have potentially become a major regret for Panisa for the rest of his life. He was the fourth ever Mega Millions $1 million winner as the state had only begun the lottery game in 2010, seven years before the man won. The man thanked the “snow and ice storm” that hit the state at the time that urged him to clean his office and discover the ticket, per ABC News. The mini market that sold the lottery ticket will earn a $10,000 bonus, the Oregon State Lottery noted.

Scratched off lottery ticket exposing winning tick. (Representative Image Source: Getty Images | Steven Puetzer)

Lotteries are a popular game in the US for people to try their luck at winning grand prizes with meagre investments. According to a 2024 Statista report, New York tops the list with 10,549 lottery tickets sold that year. It is followed by Florida at 9,417 and California at 9,239. The New York Times reported that there have been three jackpots worth $1 billion. A single ticket from New Jersey claimed a whopping $1.13 billion Mega Millions prize in March 2024.

Mega Million lottery form sold in a US state. (Representative Image Source: Getty Images | mphillips007( — Mega Million lottery form sold in a US state. (Representative Image Source: Getty Images | mphillips007)

Another report stated that despite the low chances of winning a lottery, it does not deter U.S. adults from buying one. In 2023, people spent about $338 per person annually on lottery tickets, per Investopedia. A study in Minnesota found that 20% of lottery players accounted for 71% of lottery receipts. Similarly, 29% of players created 79% of the ticket revenue in Pennsylvania. Therefore, it is not hard to imagine that people would rather gamble their hard-earned money on mostly futile lottery tickets and then reallocate it to buy something useful. The popular ideology is winning a big fortune at the cost of a few bucks.