The couple was accompanied by Danny's sister, Linda Evans, and Sharon's brother, Rawn Godwin, when they arrived in the state’s capital on Tuesday afternoon, having left Tampa in the morning. Sharon Evans bought the winning ticket at Winn Dixie # 679, located at 2525 East Hillsboro Avenue in Tampa, and used the Quick Pick option to choose her lucky number.

Miami Man Claims $7 Million Lotto Jackpot

NR 10-13-00 ... On Friday, Oct 13, a man from Miami claimed the $7 million Lotto jackpot from the Oct 7 drawing at Lottery Headquarters in Tallahassee. César Núñez (60), who has been playing Florida Lotto every week since the game began, was accompanied by his son and opted to collect the prize in form of a single cash payment of $3,497,764. Asked about his initial reaction, Mr. Núñez said, "I couldn't believe it. It was crazy. I was very happy." He first gave his wife the good news, and she then contacted their son to confirm that they were the real winners. Mr. Núñez bought his winning ticket at Cerro Market # 4, located at 2834 N. Miami Avenue in Miami, and used the Quick Pick option to choose his lucky numbers. He expressed that winning Lotto offered him "peace of mind," and thinks the prize will allow him to enjoy his retirement, but added that he planned to continue working until his normal retirement age.

Bradenton Man Wins $370,000 In Play 4

NR 10-12-00 ... On Tuesday, Oct 10, a man from Bradenton walked into the Florida Lottery's Tampa District Office with the last 100 of his 200 Play 4 winning tickets from the Sep 21 drawing. Tan Geok Soo (44) claimed a total prize of $370,000 by rendering 50 “straight” tickets worth $5,000 each and 150 “boxed” tickets worth $800 each. Mr. Soo had submitted the first 100 winning tickets on Sep 29. His claim involved so many tickets however, that Tampa Lottery officials needed extra time to process them. The lucky numbers for the Sep 21 drawing were: 8 – 4 – 4 – 8. While not unprecedented, it is rather uncommon for a player to present so many tickets for payment. In Play 4, a winning straight ticket matches the drawn numbers in the order in which they appear, while a winning boxed ticket matches the drawn numbers regardless of order of appearance. Tickets may be purchased for 50 cents or $1, with the more expensive ticket yielding a higher payout. Straight play also yields a higher payout than box play. All of Mr. Soo’s 200 tickets were valued at $1.

Dania Beach Man Claims $3 Million Lotto Jackpot

NR 10-12-00 ... On Wednesday, Oct 11, a man from Dania Beach claimed the estimated $3 million Lotto jackpot from the Sep 20 drawing at Lottery Headquarters in Tallahassee. E. Cox (66) opted to collect his prize in form of a single cash payment of $1,438,148 instead of receiving 30 annual installments of about $100,00 each. Mr. Cox bought his winning ticket at a Publix supermarket, located at 24600 S. Tamiami Trail in Bonita Springs, and chose his personal numbers. He is the 60^th Florida Lotto winner to either reside or purchase a jackpot winning ticket in Broward County. Mr. Cox also became the 631^st winner of more than $1 million since the game began in 1988.

Pinecrest Woman Claims $698,000 Mega Money Jackpot

NR 10-10-00 ... On Monday, Oct 9, a woman from Pinecrest claimed the $697,954 Mega Money top prize from the Oct 6 drawing at the Lottery’s district office in Miami. Sonia Díaz (56) was the only winner of this large jackpot which had accumulated after three consecutive rollovers. Sonia declined to comment on her good fortune, except to say that she selected her own numbers.

Unclaimed $90,000 Mega Money Ticket Due to Expire on Oct 11

NR 10-03-00 ... The Florida Lottery is conducting a search for a winner of an unclaimed Mega Money ticket due to expire soon. The jackpot ticket pertains to the April 14, 2000 drawing which had winning numbers 20 - 21 - 24 - 31 plus Mega Ball 11. The ticket was purchased at Paradise Petroleum of Delray in Delray Beach on April 12 at 7:02 pm, using a Quick Pick option. It is one of two jackpot winning tickets for that drawing, the other one having been claimed already. The ticket is worth $90,170.59 and will expire on Wednesday, October 11 if nobody claims the prize.

Players who may have purchased Mega Money tickets at this retail location are encouraged to carefully check the numbers on any old tickets they still may have. Some common places where old tickets may be located include: car consoles, cookie jars, sun visors, glove compartments, dresser drawers, wallets or purses, suit pockets, refrigerator magnets, and jewelry boxes.

This is the second search for a missing Mega Money jackpot winner undertaken by the Florida Lottery. The first one was held in May. After launching this second search, Lottery Secretary David Griffin said, "We're doing this because it's not our money. The jackpot belongs to some lucky player and we want to do everything possible to ensure he or she receives the prize."

Lottery winners have 180 days from the drawing date to claim prizes. By law, all unclaimed prize funds must be returned to the Lottery's prize pool and used for future prizes or special promotions. Besides asking for assistance from Florida's media, the Lottery is placing print advertisements in local daily and weekly newspapers, as well as notices in retail locations throughout the Delray Beach and Palm Beach County areas.