The winner of a Millionaire’s Raffle lottery ticket bought in Alexandria’s Del Ray neighborhood has claimed the $1 million prize after initially forgetting about it, the Virginia Lottery said.
An Arlington woman anonymously claimed the prize, marking the fifth and final $1 million prize from the 2026 Virginia New Year’s Millionaire Raffle. Under Virginia law, winners of prizes of $1 million or more may claim their winnings anonymously.
According to the Virginia Lottery, the woman got the ticket as a Christmas gift from her best friend and stored it in a lockbox. The woman did not realize she had won until months later, when her friend spotted a sign at a store and suggested she check her ticket.
The winning ticket was sold at the 7-Eleven at 2108 Mount Vernon Avenue. The store receives a $10,000 bonus for selling a winning ticket.
The other four $1 million winners came from Bealeton, Burke, Madison and Hopewell. Another seven tickets worth $100,000 each were sold in Hampton, Leesburg, Manassas, Montvale, Richmond, Stafford and Winchester, and 1,000 more tickets won $500 each.
The Arlington resident plans to use her winnings to pay bills and travel with the friend who gave her the ticket.
“Now I owe her a winning ticket in next year’s Raffle,” she told the Virginia Lottery.
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