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Tag: lotto

  • Mega Millions Winners in Florida Claim $207 Million

    A central Florida man and woman have stepped forward to claim their half of the $414 million Mega Millions lottery jackpot on Tuesday.

    Raymond Moyer and Robyn Collier, both 35, claimed $207 million in winnings from the Florida Lottery, and opted for a one-time, lump-sum payout of roughly $115.5 million. A check dated for April 21 was made out to the Cobie and Seamus Trust, which Moyer and Collier are members of.

    The golden Quick Pick ticket for the March 18 drawing was bought at a Publix grocery store on Merritt Island. Florida Lottery officials stated Publix will receive a $100,000 cut for selling the ticket. The $414 million jackpot is the third largest in the history of the game, and a second winning ticket was purchased in Maryland, though has not yet been claimed.

    Collier said that she wasn’t aware that she and Moyer were winners, until the numbers came up on the local news. Moyer commented, “It was definitely a shock, but it is an incredible blessing that will allow us to do many things we would not have had the opportunity to do before.”

    Non-winners took to Twitter to explain what they might do if they were winners:

    The two plan to invest the money, travel and attend Notre Dame football games. Though, not all lottery winners are equipped to handle such prompt reversal of fortune. There have been numerous instances describing the pitfalls of instant wealth.

    Kenneth and Connie Parker were winners of a $25 million jackpot, and abruptly ended their 16-year marriage within months. Jeffrey Dampier was kidnapped and murdered by his sister-in-law, after winning $20 million. Jack Whittaker won the largest individual payout in U.S. lottery history in 2002, only to have his granddaughter overdose on drugs and have numerous brushes with the law. Hurley from ABC’s cult classic LOST entered a world of pain after hitting a jackpot.

    It would appear to be wise to never tell anyone you’ve won (if the state where the ticket was purchased allows this; few do), and perhaps exact a more complex plan than eternal recreation.

    Image via YouTube

  • Mega Millions Jackpot Skyrockets to $636M, the Odds are Slim

    Tonight is the night of one of the largest drawings in U.S. lottery history.  The Mega Millions Jackpot is now more than half a million, with 75 million tickets already sold.

    The chances of a winner have been said to now be even slimmer and recently there hasn’t been any winners yet, especially since Mega Millions lottery officials have changed the rules.

    Ticket sales have also increased and will continue to increase this evening.

    According to a CBS News report “ Odds of winning the jackpot used to be 1 in 176 million. This past October, those odds changed to 1 in 259 million. Players used to have to pick six numbers from 1 to 56, but now it’s 1 to 75. “

     

    Tuesday’s drawing will be the fourth largest compared to its predecessors like the $656M Mega Millions in March 2012.

    Yesterday, the cash prize was a at $586 million.

    Executive director of the Virginia Lottery and lead director for Mega Millions, Paula Otto, predicts the jackpot could very well break the $656M record and reach $1 billion by Christmas.

    Due to late lottery purchases, Otto believes that her team would have to reassess the sales before tonight’s drawing and this will guarantee a growth in numbers.

    “Lotto players are procrastinators. They tend to buy on the day of the draw,” she said.

    Although it seems as though  the chance of winning isn’t on everyone’s side, some lottery players still see some hope in playing.

    “I’m playing!” said Facebook user Artist Daniel. “I normally never play but when that much money is out there, why not take a chance?”

    So, what would do with your money if you won? Hopefully something rewarding.

     Image via Youtube, FOX10 News-WALA

  • Powerball Jackpot Winning Ticket is Out There, Somewhere

    As the Powerball Jackpot hit nearly $600 million this weekend, a jackpot winner has finally been found. An unidentified winner from Florida matched numbers in Saturday’s draw.

    According to the Florida Lottery, a jackpot-winning Powerball ticket was sold in Publix grocery store in Zephyrhills, Florida, a city Northeast of Tampa. The ticket was a “Quick Pick” and is worth $590.5 million. The ticket matched all five winning numbers (10, 13, 14, 22, 52) and the “Powerball,” which was 11.

    “This is Florida’s sixth Powerball jackpot winner, adding to our record of the most Powerball winners of any state since the game was introduced in Florida in January 2009,” said Cynthia O’Connell, Florida Lottery Secretary. “It is also a big win for public education. This series of POWERBALL jackpot rollovers generated more than $40 million for the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund.”

    The winner, who has not yet come forward, will now have 180 days from Saturday to claim the prize money. To claim the prize money as a lump sum, the winner must file a claim within 60 days.

  • $4.8M Lotto Winner Found in Cookie Jar

    $4.8M Lotto Winner Found in Cookie Jar

    An Illinois man this week is all smiles after finding a winning lottery ticket stashed away in an old cookie jar.

    According to the Illinois Lottery, Ricardo Cerezo had some old lottery tickets sitting in a cookie jar and decided to look through them. When he scanned them at a convenience store, he found out he had won $4,850,000. The quick pick ticket was for the February 2 Illinois Lottery drawing.

    Cerezo was in disbelief, saying that he couldn’t believe that much money was sitting on his kitchen counter for months. He stated his intentions to pay off his mortgage, give money to his church, and give money to charity.

    “It is very important to us that we use this money to help others,” said Cerezo.

    This happy turn of events contrasts with recent troubles Cerezo and his family have faced. According to a report from an NBC news station in Chicago, Cerezo and his wife had last year made the decision to take their 14-year-old daughter off of life support. The girl, named Savannah, died as a result of seizures. The Cerezos had also fallen behind on their mortgage payments and were facing foreclosure before the cookie jar lotto ticket solved their money problems.

    (Image courtesy the Illinois Lottery)

  • Powerball Jackpot Reaches $222 Million

    With no jackpot winners in the month of April, the Powerball Jackpot has now risen to an incredible $222 million. There were no jackpot winners for Saturday’s (May 4) drawing, and also no ‘Match 5’ winners, who would have won a $2 million payout. Though no big payouts came this weekend, over one million people across the U.S. won a combined $11.2 million in prizes.

    The Mega Millions jackpot has also been growing, and now sits at $154 million. There were also no Mega Millions jackpot winners for Tuesday’s drawing.

    Though the odds of any one person winning are, obviously, low, stories constantly pop up to remind players that the odds of someone eventually winning are certain. Just this week, a California woman who accidentally purchased an extra SuperLotto Plus ticket won $14 million for her mistake.

  • Lotto Mistake: $14M Won on Accidental Ticket Purchase

    A woman who won $14 million in the California Lottery this week claims that she hadn’t meant to purchase the ticket.

    Thuan Le, a single mother of four, told lottery officials last week that she normally purchases $4 of Powerball tickets and $1 of SuperLotto Plus tickets on a regular basis. On May 1, however, Le accidentally put $6 into the self-serve lottery machine at her local CVS store. With the extra dollar she purchased an extra SuperLotto Plus ticket, which ended up being worth $14 million.

    Le reportedly ran screaming from the store when she verified her ticket numbers had won. She immediately called her sons and traveled to the California Lotto’s local district office to claim her $14 million prize. Le has stated that she plans to use the money to buy a house, travel, and visit her parents, who live in Vietnam.

    “We thought she was joking, but we thought would she really joke like this?” said one of Le’s sons. “My older brother said, ‘yes, she would’.”