Steve Tran is the second winner to come forth to claim the second biggest lottery jackpot of $324 million 16 days after the numbers were drawn, according to the Associated Press.
Tran who lives in Northern California said he forgot he played the lotto and left the winning ticket on top of his dresser before recently waking up in the middle of the night to check the numbers, the AP reported.
Tran bought the winning tickets in San Jose and placed it with a pile of other lottery tickets he bought while driving to other towns as his job as a delivery driver, according to the AP. After forgetting he bought the ticket on one of his drives, Tran and his family went on vacation and only realized he had the winning ticket when he returned home.
Around 3 a.m. earlier this week, Tran said he "woke up in the middle of the night. I remembered, I think I went to San Jose," and then woke up his wife, the AP reported.
After making sure he was the winner, Tran called his boss and left a voicemail saying: "I'm really sorry boss. I hit the jackpot. I don't think I'm going to come in today, tomorrow, or ever."
If Tran choses to take the lump sum he can walk away with $120 million after taxes, the AP reported.
The second biggest jackpot began on Oct. 4 after 22 draws with no winning numbers and about $336 million was made in lotto ticket sales on Dec. 17 alone, the day of the drawing, according to the AP.
The other winner to claim her prize was Ira Curry from Georgia who came forth with her ticket on Dec. 18 and opted for the lump sum amount of $120 million after taxes, the AP reported.
