A Connecticut man cashed in his winning $1 million lottery ticket, just weeks before it was set to expire.

Charles Dudley, of Redding, Connecticut, was emptying out his wallet recently when he stumbled upon a ticket he had purchased May 2 of this year, bunched together with old receipts.

"I had stopped for ice cream at the [Georgetown] Shell station that day. While I was there, I got a Powerball Quick Pick, put it in my wallet, and then forgot about it," Dudley told CT Lottery officials.

The winning Powerball numbers drawn on May 2 were 5 - 14 - 31 - 40 - 50 and Powerball 6, and Dudley's ticket matched the first five numbers drawn.

The CT Lottery had issued a statement, urging players to check their unused tickets for the winning numbers to the unclaimed prize.

Dudley' found his $1 million prize and claimed it last week with only 23 days to spare.

"I checked the winning numbers on the Lottery's website and couldn't believe it. I checked it over and over. The numbers were a match. It didn't feel real, though, until I checked the location of where the ticket was sold. It was where I bought my ticket," Dudley said.