Michael J. Weirsky is the newest NJ Lottery multi-millionaire
Press conference video
RELEASE DATE: 3/7/2019
TRENTON – At a press conference today held at Lottery Headquarters, New Jersey Lottery Acting Executive Director James A. Carey, Jr., announced Michael J. Weirsky of Alpha in Warren County, New Jersey, as the sole winner of the $273 million Mega Millions drawing held on Friday, March 1, 2019.
Mr. Weirsky purchased his lucky ticket at QuickChek, a store near to his home where he frequently purchases his lottery tickets.
He had purchased tickets for the Pick-6 game and for Mega Millions and checked both using the Lottery app on his phone. First, he checked the Pick-6 tickets and didn’t have any winners. When he checked the Mega Millions game board of tickets, one of the lines indicated he had won the jackpot. He told his mother who was nearby that he had won the Mega Millions jackpot, but she didn’t believe him. He sat contemplating the reality for a short time and decided he had to get it to the store immediately to confirm. He ventured out in a snowstorm to his closest retailer just to scan the ticket and read the good news in person – it was a jackpot winning ticket!
At the press conference, Mr. Weirsky answered questions about his experience and what might be next for him. Perhaps most shocking about Mr. Weirsky’s jackpot win is the fact that he almost lost the ticket when he purchased it, temporarily forgetting the ticket on the retail counter. Luckily, a Good Samaritan saw the ticket on the counter and gave them to the clerk. Mr. Weirsky had been searching for his tickets at home without any luck and returned the next day and collected his ticket before the drawing, before knowing what fortune awaited that ticket.
“Congratulations to Mr. Weirsky on his multi-million dollar jackpot prize. In addition to Mr. Weirsky’s big win, retailers across New Jersey won big, too. We have more than 7,000 retailers across the state, and this Mega Millions run has generated more than $1.1 million in commissions and bonuses for those retailers,” Carey said.
The $273 million jackpot has a cash option of $162 million.
The retailer that sold the winning ticket, QuickChek at 600 New Brunswick Avenue in Phillipsburg, received a $30,000 bonus check for selling the winning ticket.
Media contact: MaryAnn Rivell, New Jersey Lottery, (609) 599-5875