NEWS REPORT LEADS MAN TO OLD SHIRT, $24M JACKPOT

A New Jersey man says a television news report led him to check lottery tickets he had stuffed in an old shirt, and one was a US$24-million winner. Jimmie Smith, of East Orange, claimed a $24.1-million New York lottery jackpot on May 23, two days before the prize would have expired.

The retired security guard told lottery officials he’s been buying lottery tickets in New York and New Jersey since the 1960s but doesn’t rush to see whether he’s won. “I ended up with a stack — a pile of tickets, including the one they were talking about on the news,” the father of two and grandfather of 12 said. “I stood there for a minute thinking, ‘Do I see what I think I see?’ I had to stick my head out the window and breathe in some fresh air. ”