A family who bought a lottery ticket at a rest stop while driving home from vacation didn't realize they won the $2 million prize until about a month later

  • A family purchased a $2 million winning lottery ticket while at a rest stop last month, CNN reported.

  • They were on their way home from vacation when they took a bathroom break and bought the tickets.

  • The family didn't check the drawing for the ticket until this week.

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A New Jersey family won $2 million after purchasing a winning lottery ticket at a rest stop on their way home from vacation last month, as CNN reported.

The report said that the family was driving from North Carolina when they decided to stop for a bathroom break at a 7-Eleven in Maryland.

During the pit stop, the family bought snacks as well as Mega Millions, Cash4Life, and Powerball tickets before getting back on the road.

The family did not tune into the drawing or check the numbers until this week, almost a month after purchasing it from the store, according to the Maryland Lottery.

To the mother's surprise, the numbers from the Powerball ticket matched most of the numbers from the drawing, putting them one number short of winning a major jackpot.

"The winning mom read the numbers from the July 24 Powerball drawing, looked at her $15 ticket, and saw something remarkable," the agency wrote in the lottery winning announcement. "Their quick-pick ticket with Power Play matched the first five numbers from that drawing: 1, 4, 11, 59, and 67. They missed the Powerball, which was 10 because the ticket had a 9."

The current Powerball estimated jackpot is $290 million.

The $2 million prize shocked the family, especially the husband, who was met with excitement from his wife when she found out they won.

"I had to look at the ticket several times," he told the Maryland Lottery."It's amazing that we were only off by one number."

The couple, who has three kids, claimed their prize in Baltimore, Maryland. The agency said the family plans to pay off outstanding debt with their fortune and save what's left. The 7-Eleven where the family bought the winning ticket will get $5,000 from the lottery company.

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