IT could have been a near- $100million disaster.

Lewis Howard waited five and a half months before he claimed his $99 million, after getting legal and financials in place.

He only had two weeks left to claim, as Virginia's time is 180 days - almost 6 months.

Want to know how long you've got to grab your Mega Millions prize before the claim expiry runs out? It depends.

The time for collecting Mega Millions prizes depends on which state you bought from, so check this list.

Mega Millions says winning tickets are subject to validation and must be claimed in the state in which they were purchased:

The moral? Always check the ticket expiry times from the lottery's websites after you win in case they change.