Portsmouth Couple Wins $250,000 With Mega Millions Ticket

After being clipped to the refrigerator and then forgotten about for nearly three months, a young Portsmouth couple finally checked their Mega Millions® ticket to discover that it was a $250,000 winner. 

They will be splitting the prize with the wife's mother and uncle, who live in Texas, according to a release issued by Rhode Island Lottery Monday morning. 

Stephanie August of Portsmouth purchased the winning ticket on March 29 at 2:38 p.m. at the Shell gas station, 207 East Main Road, Middletown. The husband was not identified by the lottery commission. 

The couple bought the ticket for the March 30 record-breaking jackpot after talking to family members who suggested buying tickets together. 

The day following the drawing they heard there were three jackpot winning tickets, but none from Rhode Island, so they didn't rush to check theirs. 

With this lottery win, the excited couple said they'll be able to afford to have another baby now. The family also has plans for a Florida vacation.

The winning ticket matched five numbers but not the Mega Ball number, for a standard payout of $250,000. The winners did not opt in to purchase the Megaplier® for an extra dollar on the wager. 

If they had, the $250,000 prize would have automatically become a $1,000,000 prize no matter what Megaplier® number was drawn. 

Tomorrow's estimated Mega Millions® jackpot is $65 million.