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NR 10-31-01 ... One player with St. Cloud ticket wins $618,415 Mega Money jackpot on Oct 30 !!! This is the 15^th highest individual payout in Mega Money history and the second jackpot from Osceola County [see below]. The first Mega Money jackpot from Osceola County was a $140,079 payout in Kissimmee in June 1999.

Largo Woman Claims $10 Million Lotto Jackpot

NR 10-30-01 ... On Monday, Oct 29, a woman from Largo claimed the $10 million Lotto jackpot from the Oct 24 drawing at Lottery Headquarters in Tallahassee. Ella J. Brown (56) opted to collect her award in form of a lump-sum payment of $5,258,586, instead of receiving 30 annual installments of approximately $333,333 each. She traveled to the state’s capital accompanied by her son and several close friends in a party bus.

"I went to work Thursday after the drawing because I didn't know I'd won," said Ella, who cleans private millionaire homes for a living. "I didn't know I won until after work when I read my numbers in the newspaper. Then I just lost it! I was jumping up and down and screaming. I didn't know what else to do. I never thought I would win!"

Later that night, Ella took her ticket to a nearby Florida Lottery retail location to verify the winning numbers. "When the clerk at the store saw I had all six numbers, he made us leave because he thought I wouldn't be safe and we were causing so much commotion in his store."

"I have worked for millionaires for years cleaning their houses. I called them up and told them I wouldn't be working for them anymore," stated Ella. "When we were making plans to come here, we all wanted to come to Tallahassee together, but no one wanted to drive, so we got a party bus to travel in."

Ella disclosed that she has five children and ten grandchildren, and she plans to take care of their needs. "For myself, I plan to buy a van and travel the country," she indicated. "I have some kids and family that need help, and I'm going to help them. I will set up college scholarships for all my grandchildren."

"I have been playing my same Lotto numbers for years since the Lottery started in 1988," the winner revealed. "I won with my personal numbers, and I play about $4 or $5 a week."

Ella bought her lucky ticket at the Fairway Food store, located at 1090 South Belcher Road in Largo. The store will receive a $10,000 retailer bonus for selling the jackpot winning ticket.

Ella is the 50^th Florida Lotto winner with a ticket purchased in Pinellas County, the 9^th winner with a ticket from the city of Largo, and the 701^st overall winner since the game began in 1988.

Total ticket sales for this jackpot generated revenues of approximately $6 million for the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund for Florida's schools.

NR 10-30-01 ... Altogether 11 cities in Pinellas County have now registered 50 jackpot winners [see below]. Pinellas currently ranks fifth in total Lotto jackpot winners, behind Miami-Dade [123], Palm Beach [57], Broward [56], and Hillsborough [53]. Pinellas County’s share of Lotto jackpot winners [50 of 701 = 7.13%] lies somewhat above its proportion of overall Florida State residents [925,000 of 16 million = 5.78%].

Lotto Jackpots By City In Pinellas County

Jacksonville Woman Claims 1/3 Share of $11 Million Lotto Jackpot

NR 10-19-01 ... On Thursday, Oct 18, a woman from Jacksonville claimed her one-third share [$3.67 million] of the $11 million Lotto jackpot from the Oct 13 drawing at Lottery Headquarters in Tallahassee. Mary Cordell (53) opted to collect her award in form of a lump-sum payment of $1,990,860, instead of receiving 30 annual installments of approximately $122,222 each. She traveled to the state’s capital in the company of two of her three grown children, Kim Fifer and Preston Cordell.

Mary, who has been playing her favorite Lotto numbers since the game began in 1988, is the second of three joint winners of the $11 million Lotto jackpot from the Oct 13 drawing. The first winner to claim his award was Uric Garib (38) from Miramar, who redeemed his ticket on Monday, Oct 15. The third winner, with ticket from Fort Lauderdale, has not come forward yet.

"After we got back in town on Monday after the drawing, I checked the Lotto numbers in the newspaper before I went to bed," said Mary, who does accounting work full time and goes to college part time. "After I saw I had all six numbers, I read them off to my husband three or four times to make sure. He thought I was crazy! We also went driving around trying to find a lottery store to check our tickets, but the lottery terminals had shut down for the night at midnight."

Mary indicated that she called Lottery Headquarters the next day to confirm that she was a winner. Then she started planning her trip to Tallahassee and met with her attorney for professional advice.

"All the years I've been playing Lotto, my husband didn't believe I would be a winner and thought I was just throwing my money away," revealed Mary. "Now he thinks I'm pretty smart after all for playing. You never know when it's going to be your turn to win."

Mary bought her lucky ticket at the Publix Supermarket, located at 10601 San Jose Blvd. in Jacksonville. The store will receive a one-third share of the $10,000 retailer bonus [= $3,333] for selling the jackpot winning ticket. The winning numbers, which Mary chose by using her children's and grandchildren's birth dates, are: [3 – 14 – 18 – 23 – 24 – 26].

Mary disclosed that she first kept her ticket in a fire safety box at home and later moved it to a safe deposit box at her bank, before traveling to Tallahassee. She also mentioned that she plans to keep working at her job on a part-time basis until completing her bachelor's degree.

"I plan to use some of my winnings to help out my children and to start a college fund for my five grandchildren," she conveyed. "I also want to save some for retirement, maybe take a trip to Hawaii, finish my degree, buy some new clothes and maybe go to a spa to get pampered."

"I'm going to continue to play the Lottery," Mary indicated. "You never know when that chance may come because I never dreamed this may happen to me. Everybody has that opportunity that plays to win!"

Mary is the 27^th Florida Lotto winner with a ticket purchased in Duval County, the 25^th winner with a ticket from the city of Jacksonville, and the 699^th overall winner since the game began in 1988.

Total ticket sales for this jackpot generated revenues of approximately $7.1 million for the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund for Florida's schools.

Unclaimed $7 Million Lotto Ticket Expired on Oct 18

NR 10-19-01 ... The unredeemed Florida Lotto ticket for a jackpot worth $7 million from the draw of Apr 21, expired last night at the midnight deadline after nobody had come forward to claim the prize. By law, the ticket holder had 180 days from the Apr 21 draw date to collect the award.

Under state law, the unclaimed prize money will be returned to the prize pool fund, which is used for future promotions or cash prizes for winners. The fund is now used to enhance prizes for Scratch-Off games.

This was the first time the Florida Lottery had launched a search for a Lotto winner. In three previous campaigns to search for missing Mega Money jackpot winners nobody had come forward, neither.

"The Lottery conducted an extensive search through both paid media and publicity from the news media in an effort to have the winner bring this Lotto ticket to Tallahassee to claim the jackpot," Lottery Secretary David Griffin said. "We are sorry the Lottery was not able to reward the jackpot to the lucky winner because that's what the Lottery is famous for - giving away lots of money to our winners."

Only one unlikely possibility remains for the jackpot to be claimed. If the ticket arrives at Lottery Headquarters postmarked by the Oct 18 deadline, it will be honored. This scenario recently happened with a $46 million Big Game jackpot winning ticket sold in New Jersey. The ticket arrived at New Jersey Lottery Headquarters after the expiration deadline, but was postmarked prior to that deadline, therefore entitling the winner to collect the prize.

Miramar Man Claims 1/3 Share of $11 Million Lotto Jackpot

NR 10-15-01 ... On Monday, Oct 15, a man from Miramar claimed his one-third share [$3.67 million] of the $11 million Lotto jackpot from the Oct 13 drawing at Lottery Headquarters in Tallahassee. Uric Garib (38), a five-month postal employee who had previously spent 12 years in the Army, opted to collect his award in form of a lump-sum payment of $1,990,860, instead of receiving 30 annual installments of approximately $122,222 each. He came to the state's capital in the company of his brother-in-law.

Uric let the Lottery’s Quick Pick system choose his lucky numbers this time. "I play the Lottery all the time, but I never used Quick Pick before," he stated. "I guess I was in a spell of bad luck, so I thought I would try a Quick Pick. I thought I would change my luck." Indeed, he did!

Sunday morning [Oct 14] after the drawing, Uric was on his way to Army Reserve duty when he stopped for a cup of coffee, a donut and a newspaper to check his Lotto numbers. "I saw I had the numbers," he said, "but it was 4:30 in the morning. There was no one there to tell!"

"I just sat there for a second," Uric described his reaction to winning. "I was on my way to work, but I secured the ticket really good and went back home."

Uric then told his wife about the good news, but first "she didn’t believe me", he said. "She believed it when she saw the numbers in the newspaper. Then she went on the internet to check the payout!"

The couple, which has two children, is anticipating to buy a new house but nothing more for the time being. "Yes, I plan to keep working," Uric revealed. "I plan to stay rich!"

Uric bought his lucky Quick Pick ticket at the Xpress Lane Food Store, located at 9163 Taft Street in Pembroke Pines. The store will receive a one-third share of the $10,000 retailer bonus [= $3,333] for selling the jackpot winning ticket.

Uric's ticket was one of three winning tickets to share the $11 million jackpot. The other two tickets, which were sold in Fort Lauderdale and Jacksonville, have not been redeemed yet.

Uric is the 55^th Florida Lotto winner with a ticket purchased in Broward County, the 5^th winner with a ticket from the city of Pembroke Pines, and the 698^th overall winner since the game began in 1988.

Total ticket sales for this jackpot generated revenues of approximately $7.1 million for the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund for Florida's schools.

Pompano Beach Man Claims $10 Million Lotto Jackpot

NR 10-12-01 ... On Thursday, Oct 11, a man from Pompano Beach claimed the $10 million Lotto jackpot from the Oct 3 drawing at Lottery Headquarters in Tallahassee. Willie Hall (65), a medical technologist and Army veteran, chose to collect his award in form of a lump-sum payment of $5,455,101, instead of receiving 30 annual installments of approximately $333,333 each.

"I had pulled the winning numbers off the Lottery web page, and I was on break in the lounge at work when I had a chance to compare them with my tickets," Willie stated. "I was eating an egg salad sandwich when I took them out and looked at the numbers. They looked like the same ones I had, but I said, 'Nah, couldn't be.' I didn't believe it."

Willie got a second opinion from his supervisor to help him verify the winning numbers. Then he went to the Lottery's West Palm Beach District office to further confirm his win, but returned to work afterwards.

"He called me and told me he had won the Lottery, but it had not been verified yet," said daughter Jennise Hall, who accompanied her father to Tallahassee together with her sister Annjennette Hall-Cochran. "I told him to call me back when it was verified. A little while later, he called me back and said, 'It's been verified!'"

Willie, who has 37 years of federal service that includes the military and the Veterans Administration, indicated that he expects to retire in the next couple of months. His primary plans for his winnings are to "provide a meaningful livelihood for my children and grandchildren." "I have had a wonderful, full life," he said. "Anything that comes now is for the next generation. They are the ones to carry on."

Willie bought his lucky Quick Pick ticket at the 7-Eleven store, located at 3774 NE 3^rd Avenue in Pompano Beach. The outlet will receive a $10,000 retailer bonus from the Florida Lottery for selling the jackpot winning ticket.

Willie is the 54^th Florida Lotto winner with a ticket purchased in Broward County, the 10^th winner with a ticket from the city of Pompano Beach, and the 697^th overall winner since the game began in 1988.

Total ticket sales for this jackpot generated revenues of approximately $7.6 million for the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund for Florida's schools.

NR 10-11-01 ... Lotto's payout of $10,330 for 5/6 prize winners is the 8^th highest in history. This is the first time since 8 Nov 2000 that a 5/6 payout surpasses the $10,000 mark. Eleven months ago, 25 players won $10,239 each for getting five of six numbers correct. Nine Lotto 5/6 payouts have now been above $10,000 and another five above $9,000. The highest Lotto 5/6 payout ever was registered on 17 Sep 1988, when 125 people claimed $12,582 each. The top seven 5/6 payouts of all time were registered between 1988 and 1989.

Unclaimed $7 Million Lotto Ticket Due to Expire on Oct 18

NR 10-08-01 ... The Florida Lottery is conducting its first-ever search for the holder of an unclaimed Lotto ticket worth $7 million and due to expire in 10 days. The jackpot winning ticket pertains to the 21 Apr 2001 drawing which had the following numbers: [5 - 24 - 39 - 41 - 46 - 50].

The ticket was purchased in Fern Park [Seminole County] at the Winn Dixie Supermarket, located at 7800 S. Highway 17-92, on 21 Apr 2001 at 5:39 pm, using the Quick Pick option. It will expire on Thursday, 18 Oct 2001, at 5:00 pm, if no one has claimed the jackpot by then. The ticket must be presented at Lottery Headquarters in Tallahassee or at one of 11 District Offices.

The Lotto jackpot must be awarded in 30 annual installments now, since the lump-sum cash payment option is only available if the ticket is claimed within 60 days after the drawing date. Hence, if claimed, the winner will receive approximately $233,333 per year for the next 30 years.

Players who may have purchased Lotto tickets at the Winn Dixie in Fern Park are encouraged to carefully check the numbers on any old tickets they may still have. Some common places where old tickets are frequently located include: car consoles, cookie jars, sun visors, glove compartments, dresser drawers, wallets or purses, suit pockets, refrigerator magnets, and jewelry boxes.

In addition to asking for assistance from Florida's news media, the Lottery has placed a full-page ad in yesterday's Orlando Sentinel and distributed flyers in more than 800 retail locations throughout Seminole and Orange counties.

After launching the Lottery's first-ever search for a Lotto winner, Lottery Secretary David Griffin said, "The Lottery is famous for giving away lots of money. This prize doesn't belong to us. It belongs to some lucky player and we want to do everything possible to ensure he or she receives the prize." The Lottery has conducted three previous searches for missing Mega Money jackpot winners. Unfortunately, however, nobody came forward to claim the prizes in those instances.

Since almost two entire years no Lotto jackpot winning ticket has gone unclaimed. This is a new record in the 14-year history of the game. The last time a Lotto ticket expired without having been redeemed was on 18 Nov 1999. The ticket, which was purchased in Miami, pertained to the 22 May 1999 drawing and was worth $9.43 million.

This could be the second time that a winning Lotto ticket from Seminole County goes unclaimed. The first one, sold in Sanford, expired on 26 Sep 1991 and was worth $15.86 million. To this day, this remains to be the largest ever unclaimed Lotto payout.

Since the inception of Florida Lotto in May 1988, a total of 18 jackpot winning tickets have gone unclaimed. The aggregate value of all unredeemed tickets now amounts to over $116 million, with an average worth of $6.45 million per ticket. [See a comprehensive table].

The latest time a Lotto jackpot was claimed before the expiration deadline happened in Oct 1997. The winner of an $8.21 million payout redeemed his ticket just six days before the 180-day closing date.

Lottery winners have 180 days from the drawing date to claim prizes. By law, all unclaimed prize money must be returned to the Lottery's prize pool fund, which is used for future promotions or cash prizes for winners. The fund is now used to enhance Scratch-Off prizes for winners.

NR 10-08-01 ... Added a brand new "Lotto Unclaimed Jackpot Tickets" page. The page presents a statistical review of all unclaimed Lotto jackpot winning tickets to date, and shows a comprehensive table with the respective winning numbers, draw dates, payout values, and ticket selling locations thereof. How many tickets do you think have gone unclaimed over the years?

Broward County Registers First Lotto Jackpot In 18 Months

NR 10-04-01 ... Yesterday’s jackpot of $10.00 million was the first one to be won by a ticket purchased in Broward County in 18 months. The last jackpot claimed by a Broward ticket had been a $5.50 million prize on 1 Apr 00, exactly 550 days ago. Incidentally, that ticket has also been issued in Pompano Beach. Between 1 Apr 00 and 3 Oct 01, a total of 156 Lotto draws passed by without registering a single winning ticket from Broward County. This was an unusually long “drought spell” for Florida’s second most populated district, as Broward County registers a Lotto winner every 14.85 draws on average. In 1999, for instance, no less than 8 jackpot tickets were sold in BC, and in aggregate the region now accounts for 54 of all Lotto winners [= 7.75%].

Lotto Jackpot Winning Tickets Purchased In Broward County  [1988 - 2001]

Wednesday’s jackpot of $10.00 million is the 15^th largest individual payout for a Lotto winning ticket purchased in Broward County. The maximum payout belongs to a ticket sold in Tamarac, which claimed $35.00 million on 6 Aug 94. The second highest payout in Broward County occurred on 15 Dec 99, when one ticket from Pompano Beach claimed a $27.08 million share of an $81.24 million jackpot split among three winners. [This is also the highest payout ever recorded in Pompano Beach]. The third highest payout in Broward County belongs to a ticket from Lighthouse Point [$23.27 million], the fourth highest to a ticket from Coconut Creek [$17.75 million], and the fifth highest to a ticket from Fort Lauderdale [$15.54 million]. [Payout and jackpot amounts in $ millions].

Top 5 Individual Lotto Payouts In Broward County

Wednesday’s prize of $10.00 million is the 54^th Lotto jackpot won by a ticket purchased in Broward County. Altogether 21 cities in the district have now registered a jackpot winner [see below]. Broward currently ranks third in total Lotto jackpot winners, behind Miami-Dade [123] and Palm Beach [57], but ahead of Hillsborough [53] and Pinellas [49]. Broward County’s share of Lotto jackpot winners [54 of 697 = 7.75%] lies somewhat below its proportion of overall Florida State residents [1.62 million of 16 million = 10.12%].

Lotto Jackpots By City In Broward County