News Releases

12/02

11/02

10/02

09/02

08/02

07/02

06/02

05/02

04/02

03/02

02/02

01/02

Port Orange Man Claims $7 Million Lotto Jackpot

NR 01-29-02 ... On Monday, Jan 28, a man from Port Orange claimed the $7 million Lotto jackpot from the Jan 26 drawing at Lottery Headquarters in Tallahassee. Larry Teninty (61) chose to collect his award in form of a lump-sum payment of $4,095,940 before 27% in federal withholding taxes, instead of receiving 30 annual installments of approximately $274,000 each. He traveled to the state’s capital in the company of a neighbor who is a police officer.

"Obviously, this is the largest prize I have ever won," said Larry, who is semi-retired and has been playing the Lottery since he moved to Florida from Pennsylvania five years ago.

"I looked at the first number, then the second, then the third, and I thought I got some money," Larry indicated. "Looked at the fourth number and thought I got more money. I looked at the fifth number and thought I got a lot more money. Then I looked at the last number and I thought, 'This has got to be a mistake!'"

"It's total disbelief — I even got my neighbor's newspaper to check the numbers because I knew mine had to be wrong," Larry expressed. "I went to bed early Saturday night, so I did not check my tickets until Sunday morning," he remarked. "I'm glad I did not see the winning numbers because I wouldn't have been able to sleep Saturday night. I have not slept since I found out I won."

Larry said the first person he told was his wife, who was on a trip out of town. "She just said, 'OK' — like it was no big deal — she told me, 'You always said you would win,'" he reported.

"I want to handle the money wisely," Larry stated. "I know I'm going to blow some, but I want to talk to my accountant and come up with a good plan. I am going to give a good chunk to the church — I have already called my priest and told him the good news! Also my daughter is looking for a house, so they will be able to get a slightly better house."

As for himself and his wife, the winner revealed, "My wife is already looking for a conversion van. We like to travel." He added that his prize would also accelerate their move into a new home.

The winner bought his lucky ticket at the Sprint Food Store, located at 4622 Clyde Morris Boulevard in Port Orange. The store will receive a $10,000 retailer bonus for selling the Lotto jackpot winning ticket. Larry used Quick Pick to select his winning numbers.

Larry is the 28^th Florida Lotto winner with a ticket purchased in Volusia County, the 3^rd winner with a ticket from the city of Port Orange, and the 710^th overall winner since the game began in 1988.

Wellington Man Claims Fourth And Final 1/4 Share of $87.60 Million Jackpot

NR 01-29-02 ... On Monday, Jan 28, a self-employed man from Wellington claimed his ¼ share of the $87.60 million Lotto jackpot from the Jan 19 drawing at Lottery Headquarters in Tallahassee. [Higher-than-expected sales increased the previously estimated jackpot of $85.00 million actually to $87.60 million, which is the third highest in Florida Lotto history].

Peter G. Doubleday (51), who is a great-great nephew of baseball inventor Abner Doubleday, opted to collect his award in form of a single cash payment of $11,084,563 before 27% in federal withholding taxes. He could also have chosen to receive his prize in 30 annual installments of approximately $730,250 each. Peter was the fourth and, thereby, final of four joint winners of the $87.60 million jackpot to redeem his ticket. The three other winners from Tampa, Jacksonville and Dade City, respectively, had claimed their ¼ shares of the jackpot last week.

"I saw the owner of the store where I bought my Lotto tickets being interviewed on TV on Sunday night, so I decided to check my tickets," said Peter, who lives with his wife Nancy. "I printed out the winning numbers off the Lottery's web site and read through them four or five times. When my wife and I realized we had the winning numbers, we just stared at each other for a while."

"We stored the winning ticket in a security box at home while we made plans to come to Tallahassee today [Jan 28]," the winner expressed. "After we realized we had won, my wife and I were in total disbelief, but we didn't tell anyone. We just talked about our future plans."

Peter, who had moved from North Carolina to Florida four years ago, indicated that he plays Lotto twice a week and that he uses both the Quick Pick option as well as his personal numbers. "I was in a hurry when I got my tickets, so I just bought Quick Picks,'" he mentioned.

"We plan to use our winnings to buy a new car, maybe do some traveling and buy some land," revealed Peter, who regularly adopts dogs and cats from local animal shelters. "I also plan to continue working at my job."

The winner bought his lucky ticket at Star Liquors, located at 11878 Forest Hill Boulevard in Wellington. The store will receive ¼ of a $10,000 retailer bonus for selling one of the four Lotto jackpot winning tickets. Peter used Quick Pick to select his winning numbers.

Peter is the 58^th Florida Lotto winner with a ticket purchased in Palm Beach County, the 2^nd winner with a ticket from the city of Wellington, and the 709^th overall winner since the game began in 1988.

Volusia County Registers First Lotto Jackpot In 20 Months

NR 01-27-02 ... The Jan 26 jackpot of $7.00 million is the first to be won by a ticket purchased in Volusia County in more than 20 months. The last jackpot claimed by a Volusia ticket had been a $50.00 million top prize on 05-13-00, exactly 623 days and 178 Lotto draws ago. That ticket was purchased in New Smyrna Beach. This was an unusually long "drought spell" for Volusia County, as the district registers a Lotto winner every 30 draws on average. Nonetheless, Volusia County's share of Lotto jackpot winners [28 of 710 = 3.94%] is still above its proportion of overall Florida State residents [450,000 of 16 million = 2.81%].
 

Lotto Jackpot Winning Tickets Purchased In Volusia County  [1988 - 2002]

The Jan 26 jackpot of $7.00 million is the third from Port Orange. Previously, a jackpot worth $9.43 million [on 05-22-99] and a jackpot worth $10.00 million [on 12-05-92] were claimed with tickets from Port Orange. In both cases however, the top prize was shared by multiple winners. Thus, the Jan 26 jackpot of $7.00 million is the first ever to be claimed by a sole winner from Port Orange. Altogether, 28 Lotto jackpot winning tickets have now been purchased in Volusia County, but Daytona Beach - the most populous city in the district - has not registered a winner in 5½ years currently.

Lotto Jackpots By City In Volusia County

Orlando Man Claims $842,153 Mega Money Jackpot

NR 01-26-02 ... On Wednesday, Jan 23, Richard Lustig (51) from Orlando claimed the $842,153 Mega Money jackpot from the Jan 22 drawing at Lottery Headquarters in Tallahassee. The entertainment-booking agent traveled to the state's capital in the company of his family.

Previous to this win, Richard had won more than $10,000 on two occasions, as well as vacation trips to Los Angeles and Memphis and numerous smaller prizes in the Florida Lottery. The $842,153 Mega Money jackpot award, which is the 5^th highest individual payout in the history of the game, topped all those earlier prizes, however.

"I've been playing the Florida Lottery since it started, but this is the biggest prize I have ever won!" Richard said. "The Lottery has been very good to me."

Richard indicated that he is a regular Lottery player who usually selects his personal numbers and continues to play them until they win. "Sooner or later, the numbers have to come up," he stated. Furthermore, he mentioned that he planned to use his prize money to "pay off bills, help the family, splurge a little on ourselves and put the rest away for retirement."

Richard bought his lucky ticket at Publix Supermarket, located at 3972 Town Center Boulevard in Orlando.

Live Lottery Drawings In Miami Beach

NR 01-25-02 ... This Friday [Jan 25] and Saturday [Jan 26], the Florida Lottery will conduct its daily televised on-line drawings live from the Lincoln Road Mall in South Beach. Draw hosts Brigid Odgers and Ken Ifland will perform the drawings for all five Florida Lottery on-line games: Lotto, Mega Money, Fantasy 5, Play 4 and Cash 3. The drawing schedule is:

     Friday, Jan 25                                                Saturday, Jan 26
     Cash 3 & Play 4:   7:57 pm ET                         Cash 3 & Play 4:   7:57 pm ET
     Mega Money:      11:00 pm ET                         Florida Lotto:     11:00 pm ET  [$7 m Jackpot]
     Fantasy 5:          11:15 pm ET                         Fantasy 5:          11:15 pm ET

On prior occasions, 9 other remote live Lottery drawings have taken place in Apalachicola, Key West, Miami (2), Orlando (2), Sarasota, Tampa and West Palm Beach. The public is invited to attend this special event in South Beach. Entertainment will begin at 6:15 pm ET each night.

Dade City Man Claims Third 1/4 Share of $87.60 Million Jackpot

NR 01-24-02 ... On Tuesday, Jan 22, a man from Pasco County who had bought his winning ticket in Brooksville, claimed his ¼ share of the $87.60 million Lotto jackpot from the Jan 19 drawing at Lottery Headquarters in Tallahassee. [Higher-than-expected sales increased the previously estimated jackpot of $85.00 million actually to $87.60 million, which is the third highest in Florida Lotto history].

James E. Smith (43) from Dade City opted to collect his award in form of a single cash payment of $11,084,563 before 27% in federal withholding taxes. He could also have chosen to receive his prize in 30 annual installments of approximately $730,250 each. James was the third of four joint winners of the $87.60 million jackpot to redeem his ticket.

"I had to stop at the gas station in Brooksville to get fuel for my truck before I went hunting Thursday night, so I bought $10 worth of Lotto tickets while I was there," James said. "I didn't get home from hunting until late Saturday night and didn't see the winning numbers in the Tampa Tribune until the next day," he added.

"After I read the winning numbers, I just started shaking a lot and just said 'We won!'" James remarked. "When I saw those numbers, I thought no way I would win. Because I bought a 'Quick Pick' ticket, we did."

"My wife also looked at the numbers and said this could not be true, so we checked them over and over," James indicated. "We doubled checked the numbers on the TV news that night and just rode around all day Monday looking at things to buy with our winnings."

James stated that he wants to use some of his prize money to buy a new luxury bus for traveling around the country, pay bills, take care of his family needs and set up a college fund for his child. He mentioned that he has already quit his job at a local construction company and that he will urge his wife to quit her job as well.

James bought his lucky ticket at the Hess Express store, located at 18635 Cortez Boulevard in Brooksville. The outlet will receive ¼ of a $10,000 retailer bonus for selling one of the four Lotto jackpot winning tickets. James used Quick Pick to select his winning numbers.

James is the 11^th Florida Lotto winner with a ticket purchased in Hernando County, the 4^th winner with a ticket from the city of Brooksville, and the 708^th overall winner since the game began in 1988.

Jacksonville Bartender Claims Second 1/4 Share of $87.60 Million Jackpot

NR 01-24-02 ... On Tuesday, Jan 22, a young man from Jacksonville claimed his ¼ share of the $87.60 million Lotto jackpot from the Jan 19 drawing at Lottery Headquarters in Tallahassee. [Higher-than-expected sales increased the previously estimated jackpot of $85.00 million actually to $87.60 million, which is the third highest in Florida Lotto history].

Steve Tetreault (32) opted to collect his award in form of 30 annual installments of approximately $730,250 each before 27% in federal withholding taxes. He could also have chosen to receive his prize in form of a one-time cash payment of $11,084,563. Steve was the second of four joint winners of the $87.60 million jackpot to redeem his ticket.

"I don't usually play the Lottery," Steve, who is a bartender at a Jacksonville restaurant, said. "I really can't remember the last time I played."

"I really am not sure what I'm going to do with the money," he stated. "I think I have to let it sink in. I know there are some nice things I would like to get, but I'm just not sure at this point."

"I just happened to be talking on the phone to a friend who was going to play," Steve revealed. "It was already about 9:15 pm, so I just went out and bought some tickets. I just happened to play this time."

Steve indicated that he found out he was a winner when he returned from a trip late Monday night. After his wife told him that a winning ticket was sold at a nearby store, he got a newspaper to check his numbers.

"When I saw the numbers, I was in shock — total disbelief," Steve expressed. "We just looked at each other — I think we checked the ticket a few times to make sure it was right."

Steve bought his lucky ticket at the Welcome Food store, located at 11405 San Jose Boulevard in Jacksonville. The outlet will receive ¼ of a $10,000 retailer bonus for selling one of the four Lotto jackpot winning tickets. Steve used Quick Pick to select his winning numbers.

Steve 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 707^th overall winner since the game began in 1988.

Tampa Man Claims First 1/4 Share of $87.60 Million Lotto Jackpot

NR 01-24-02 ... On Tuesday, Jan 22, a man from Tampa who had bought his winning ticket in Miami, claimed his ¼ share of the $87.60 million Lotto jackpot from the Jan 19 drawing. [Higher-than-expected sales increased the previously estimated jackpot of $85.00 million actually to $87.60 million, which is the third highest in Florida Lotto history].

James M. Vorick (50) arrived at approximately 10:00 am at Lottery Headquarters in Tallahassee to redeem his lucky ticket, and opted to collect his award in form of a lump-sum payment of $11,084,563 before 27% in federal withholding taxes. He could also have chosen to receive his prize in 30 annual installments of approximately $730,250 each. James was the first of four joint winners of the $87.60 million jackpot to redeem his ticket.

The winner bought his lucky ticket at the Mart Oil Station, located at 695 NW 95^th Street in Miami. The store will receive ¼ of a $10,000 retailer bonus for selling one of the four Lotto jackpot winning tickets. James used Quick Pick to select his winning numbers.

James is the 124^th Florida Lotto winner with a ticket purchased in Miami-Dade County, the 81^st winner with a ticket from the city of Miami, and the 706^th overall winner since the game began in 1988.

NR 01-24-02 ... Four players with tickets from Brooksville, Jacksonville, Miami and Wellington share $87.60 million Lotto jackpot on Jan 19 !!! Each winner receives $21.90 million. The $21.90 million payout in Brooksville is the highest ever in Hernando County. [Higher-than-expected sales increased the previously estimated jackpot of $85.00 million actually to $87.60 million, which is the third highest in Florida Lotto history].

NR 01-22-02 ... One player with Ocala ticket wins $204,622 Fantasy 5 jackpot on Jan 21 !!! This is the highest Fantasy 5 payout in Marion County.

NR 01-18-02 ... Ninth rollover in Lotto leaves jackpot of $85 million for Saturday, Jan 19 !!! This is the 4^th highest jackpot in Lotto history and the highest since 03-20-93. Higher-than-expected ticket sales since Jan 16, when the ninth rollover occurred, have increased the previously estimated jackpot of $77 million by $8 million.

NR 01-18-02 ... The current rollover series of 9 consecutive draws without a winner is the longest in Lotto history and the 2nd of its kind. In 1999, the first and only other rollover series of 9 consecutive draws produced a jackpot worth $81.24 million, which was claimed by winners from Boca Raton, Miami and Pompano Beach. This $81.24 million jackpot is the 5th highest in Lotto history, while the current prize of $85 million is the 4th highest.

NR 01-18-02 ... Florida’s $85 million Lotto jackpot is currently the highest in the nation [see table below]. It is also the 4^th highest jackpot in Lotto history and the highest since 03-20-93, when three separate families with tickets from Jacksonville, Miami and Tampa, respectively, shared a top prize worth $86.04 million. None of the winners used the Quick Pick option on that occasion.

In the event that Saturday's drawing should produce a sole winner, s/he could either opt for a single lump sum cash payment of approximately $42 million or, otherwise, receive $2.8 million annually over the next 30 years.

Ticket sales for Wednesday's [Jan 16] $60 million Lotto jackpot drawing peaked at 7 pm ET on the same day, when an average of 36,400 tickets per minute were being purchased statewide. Ticket sales on Thursday [Jan 17] reached over $5 million and peaked at 6 pm ET with 6,700 purchases per minute statewide. On Friday [Jan 18] morning at 10:00 am, Lotto tickets were selling at a rate of 8,500 per minute statewide.

Ticket sales are expected to be in the 40,000 per minute range Saturday [Jan 19] evening sometime between 5 and 8 pm ET. To accommodate increased player demand, an additional 36 online Lottery terminals have been installed at heavy traffic retail locations - mainly on the Alabama and Georgia state borders and at high volume outlets.

Ticket sales from this 9-draw rollover series have reached more than $100 million through Wednesday [Jan 16] night, which translates into educational revenues for Florida of approximately $38 million.

NR 01-17-02 ... One player with Jacksonville ticket wins $254,569 Fantasy 5 jackpot on Jan 16 !!! This is the 7^th highest individual payout in New Fantasy 5 history and the highest in Duval County.

NR 01-17-02 ... Wednesday's draw produced more than 347,000 Lotto winners at the 3/6, 4/6 and 5/6 prize levels. Not since 07-22-00 had so many players won a prize together. On that occasion 18 months ago, 365,172 players won a prize - including the "Bent Pine Lottery Group Jackpot Trust", a player pool composed of 26 workers from the Bent Pine Golf Club in Vero Beach - who claimed a $66.99 million jackpot after 8 consecutive rollovers. The record number of Lotto winners for a single draw dates to 10-26-91, when an impressive 2,050,008 players were rewarded. That was the only time in Lotto history that more than 2 million people claimed a prize together.

NR 01-17-02 ... Wednesday's draw produced 735 Lotto winners at the 5/6 prize level. Not since 05-22-99 had so many players hit 5 correct numbers together. On that occasion, 1,252 players won $747.00 each and 7 jackpot winners shared a top prize of $66.00 million. The record number of joint 5/6 prize winners was set on 06-24-89, when 2,954 players received $320.00 each. Altogether, more than 199,000 players have now won 5/6 prizes totaling $533 million since 1988.

NR 01-14-02 ... One player with Sanford ticket wins $168,763 Fantasy 5 jackpot on Jan 13 !!! This is the highest Fantasy 5 payout and the first jackpot to be claimed by a sole winner in Seminole County.

NR 01-13-02 ... One player with Daytona Beach ticket wins $255,327 Fantasy 5 jackpot on Jan 12 !!! This is the 5^th highest individual payout in New Fantasy 5 history and the highest in Volusia County.

NR 01-13-02 ... The current rollover series of 8 consecutive draws without a winner is the 2nd longest in Lotto history and the 4th of its kind. In 2000, two rollover series of 8 consecutive draws each produced jackpots of $81.60 million [on 03-29-00] and $66.99 million [on 07-22-00], respectively. The $81.60 million jackpot was claimed by the "Whispering Pines Lottery Trust", a player pool composed of 11 workers from the Whispering Pines Nursing Center in New Port Richey. [The ticket was purchased in nearby Holiday]. The $66.99 million jackpot was claimed by the "Bent Pine Lottery Group Jackpot Trust", a player pool composed of 26 workers from the Bent Pine Golf Club in Vero Beach. The "Whispering Pines" and "Bent Pine" jackpots are the two highest individual ticket Lotto payouts in the history of the game. In Sep 2001, a third rollover series of 8 consecutive draws produced a jackpot worth $56.37 million, which was won by a pediatrician from Miami. [R = Individual Payout Rank].

NR 01-11-02 ... Florida’s $45 million Lotto jackpot is currently the highest single-state Lotto top prize in the nation [see comparison chart below]. Only the Big Game and PowerBall multi-state jackpots are higher.

In the event that Saturday’s drawing should produce a sole winner, s/he could either opt for a single lump sum cash payment of approximately $23 million or, otherwise, receive $1.5 million annually over the next 30 years.

Ticket sales for last Wednesday’s $35 million Lotto jackpot drawing peaked at 7 pm ET on the same day, when an average of 16,200 tickets per minute were being purchased statewide. Sales are expected to be in the 20,000 - 25,000 per minute range tomorrow evening sometime between 5 and 8 pm ET.

Sales from this 7-draw rollover series have reached more than $56.4 million through Wednesday night, which translates into educational revenues for Florida of approximately $21 million.

NR 01-10-02 ... The current rollover series of 7 consecutive draws without a winner is the 5th longest in Lotto history and the 4th of its kind. At the beginning of 2001, an almost identical 7-draw rollover series accumulated a jackpot of $45 million, which was claimed by a lady from New Port Richey. Three months earlier, on 11-04-00, a couple from Vero Beach also won a 7-draw rollover jackpot of $45 million, and on 08-19-00 a family from Jupiter won a 7-draw rollover jackpot of $53.76 million. Besides these 4 rollover series of 7 draws each, there have been 3 series of 8 draws each and one of 9 draws. The record rollover series of 9 consecutive draws ran from 11-10-99 to 12-15-99 and produced a jackpot worth $81.24 million. Will it be eclipsed this time? [R = Individual Payout Rank].

Cocoa Man Claims $6 Million "Christmas Gift" Lotto Jackpot

NR 01-08-02 ... On Monday, Jan 7, a man from Cocoa claimed the $6 million Lotto jackpot from the Dec 15 drawing at Lottery Headquarters in Tallahassee. Juan A. González (53) chose to collect his award in form of a lump-sum payment of $3,422,125, instead of receiving 30 annual installments of approximately $200,000 each. He traveled to the state’s capital in the company of his wife Sandra.

Juan found out that he won the Lotto jackpot on Dec 16, just a day after the drawing, when he read the winning numbers in the newspaper. He decided, however, not tell his wife Sandra - to whom he has been married for 34 years - immediately. Instead, he wanted to give her a special Christmas surprise.

"I waited until December 25 to tell her," Juan said. "I asked her what it felt like to be married to a millionaire? She did not know what was going on. She said to me, 'Are you sure?' And then she asked me, "How many zeros is that?’"

Juan, who was born in Puerto Rico and raised in Miami, selected the winning combination [10 - 19 - 27 - 33 - 48 – 53] based on his own birthday. "I was born October 27, 1948, and I'm 53 years old," he explained. "When I was 33 and people asked me my age, I would always answer 'Christ's age,' so that number has always stuck with me. So the winning number is just my birthday."

Juan stated that he would use his proceeds to take care of his wife and their children, primarily paying bills and buying homes. Before making any concrete investment plans, however, he wants to talk to an accountant. He did mention, though, that he expects to get a new airboat.

Juan also disclosed that he is not sure if he will continue working at his job, but that he would retire if it is financially feasible. "If I can retire and take care of my wife, that's what I will do!" he said.

Juan bought his lucky ticket at the 7-Eleven store, located at 1451 Clearlake Road in Cocoa. The outlet will receive a $10,000 retailer bonus for selling the jackpot winning ticket.

Juan is the 22^nd Florida Lotto winner with a ticket purchased in Brevard County, the 4^th winner with a ticket from the city of Cocoa, and the 705^th overall winner since the game began in 1988.

NR 01-06-02 ... One player with Hernando ticket wins $253,566 Fantasy 5 jackpot on Jan 5 !!! This is the 7^th highest individual payout in New Fantasy 5 history and the highest in Citrus County.