Roger Williams University president wins $1 million in lottery

The president of a local university has claimed his $1 million lottery prize, months after purchasing the winning ticket, The Providence Journal reports. 

Ioannis Miaoulis, president of Roger Williams University in Bristol, Rhode Island, told the newspaper he bought the Feb. 2 Mega Millions ticket from a Stop & Shop on Metacom Avenue. 

Thinking he wasn’t going to win, he put it in a drawer and forgot about it for five months.

“He noticed that the prize was unclaimed from that location and since he had bought tickets from there, he figured he should check,” the Rhode Island Lottery said in a statement. “Thankfully, he still had it and now plans to use the money towards his retirement.” 

Miaoulis told the Journal he went to the lottery on Tuesday to cash in his winning ticket (his five numbers were drawn but he missed the “Megaball” number) with his daughter and they went out to lunch afterwards to celebrate. 

“My daughter couldn’t believe I had lunch with that check in my pocket,” he told the newspaper. 

The university president, who previously served as the president and director of the Museum of Science in Boston, told the Journal that in addition to using the money for his retirement in six years, he plans to donate some of his winnings to his favorite charity and the university, and will share some with family.