Local university president bought a lottery ticket worth $1 million. Then forgot about it.

BRISTOL – The president of Roger Williams University won a $1 million lottery prize in February and didn't know it until this month.

Ioannis Miaoulis bought a ticket for the $333 million Feb. 2 Mega Millions drawing while at Stop & Shop on Metacom Avenue. His numbers: 11-22-42-64-69, plus a "Mega Ball" number of 19. Now, Miaoulis knows the odds against winning are astronomical, so he doesn't play the lottery often. "But it's kind of fun once in a while to get a ticket," he said. "You buy a dream for $10."

Realizing he wasn't going to win, he put the ticket in a seldom-used drawer and promptly forgot about it.

On the evening of Groundhog Day, when the winner was chosen, his five numbers were picked. But, his Mega Ball of 19 just missed – the winning number was 18. Matching the five numbers without the Mega Ball qualifies for a second prize of $1 million.

Winning ticket goes unnoticed for months

The winning ticket sat unseen in the drawer for five months, until Miaoulis opened it and discovered he had a winner.

He went to the Rhode Island Lottery on Tuesday with his daughter to cash it in. (A $1 million prize nets about $700,100 after taxes.)

What's the first thing they did with their riches?

They went straight to a nearby sushi restaurant to celebrate.

"My daughter couldn't believe I had lunch with that check in my pocket," he said.

After lunch, he deposited the money.

Miaoulis said he plans to donate some of his winnings to his favorite charity, the university and will share some with his family while using the rest for his retirement in six years, a date he had picked before winning.

He added that even if the Mega Ball had matched, and he had won the jackpot, he would still have kept working.