News Releases

02/03

01/03

12/02

11/02

10/02

09/02

08/02

07/02

06/02

05/02

04/02

03/02

NR 03-29-02 ... Two players with tickets from McDavid and Satellite Beach share $229,344 Fantasy 5 jackpot on Mar 28 !!! Each winner receives $114,672. The winning ticket from McDavid is the highest Fantasy 5 payout registered in Escambia County.

Miami Technician Claims $3.5 Million Lotto Jackpot

NR 03-26-02 ... On Tuesday, Mar 26, an air conditioning and refrigerator service technician from Miami claimed his ½ share of the $7 million Lotto jackpot from the Mar 23 drawing at Lottery Headquarters in Tallahassee. Lloyd Middlestead (41) chose to collect his award in form of a lump-sum payment of $1,912,298 before 27% in federal withholding taxes, instead of receiving 30 annual installments of approximately $127,000 each. The other winning ticket, which was also sold in Miami, was redeemed on Mar 25 by Jesús Rodríguez (29) from Hialeah Gardens.

"I checked a printout of the winning numbers from the Lottery's website when I got home Sunday," said Lloyd, who has lived in Miami for most of his life. "I called one of my friends to verify the winning numbers and he said it must be a misprint. After he confirmed that I had won, I was pretty stunned and in disbelief."

On Monday Lloyd called a Lottery official to certify that he held the winning ticket. He then began making plans to travel to Tallahassee in the company of his father Robert and his brothers Michael and Robert George, in order to claim his jackpot.

"I usually play a few dollars in Lotto Quick Picks every Wednesday and Saturday," the winner indicated. "I only play for the big one and it hasn't hit … until today! The most I think I won up until today was about five bucks."

Lloyd bought his ticket at the Sidrah Chevron station, located at 13500 NW 7^th Avenue in Miami. The store will receive half of a $10,000 retailer bonus [= $5,000] for selling one of the two Lotto jackpot winning tickets.

"I haven't made any specific plans on what I'll use my winnings for," Lloyd stated. "I'm going to do some research with a financial planner first. I don't even know yet if I'm going to keep working, but I plan to focus on self-employment."

Lloyd is the 126^th Florida Lotto winner with a ticket purchased in Miami-Dade County, the 83^rd winner with a ticket from the city of Miami, and the 716^th overall winner since the game began in 1988.

Palm Coast Retiree Claims $12.5 Million Lotto Jackpot

NR 03-26-02 ... On Monday, Mar 25, a retired pharmaceutical plant manager from Palm Coast in Flagler County claimed his ½ share of the $25 million Lotto jackpot from the Mar 16 drawing at Lottery Headquarters in Tallahassee. Edward Kryzanekas (68) opted to collect his award in form of a one-time cash payment of $6,527,851 before 27% in federal withholding taxes, instead of receiving 30 annual installments of approximately $416,666 each. The other winning ticket, which was sold in Melbourne, has not been redeemed yet.

"I play Lotto every drawing," the winner said. "That's the name of the game - play Lotto - never give up!" Indeed, Edward has played Florida Lotto since the game began in 1988, and prior to that he played the New Jersey Lottery until he moved to Florida in the 1970s. In the Garden State he won two prizes by hitting 5 of 6 numbers on two occasions, and in Florida he had the same luck, also hitting 5 of 6 numbers in Lotto twice, including once on Mar 16 – the draw which he eventually won.

Edward bought his winning ticket at the Lil Champ store, located at 31 Inlet Harbor Road in Ponce Inlet. The outlet will receive half of a $10,000 retailer bonus [= $5,000] for selling one of the two Lotto jackpot winning tickets.

Although he does not live in Ponce Inlet [which is south of Palm Coast], Edward remarked that it's a beautiful place he has always had a lucky feeling about. He picked his winning numbers [29 - 33 - 37 - 40 - 46 – 52] from those on the front of a dollar bill he found within the last month.

"I sometimes do that - play the numbers from dollar bills," Edward revealed. "This one had a 33 and that's always been lucky for me!"

Asked about his future plans, the winner expressed that he just wants to play more golf. "Just play golf, run, workout, and have fun - just relax. I once had this dream that I would play golf in every state for 30 days - the only thing that might stop me now is my age."

Edward is the 29^th Florida Lotto winner with a ticket purchased in Volusia County, the very first winner with a ticket from the city of Ponce Inlet, and the 713^th overall winner since the game began in 1988.

Young Cuban Man From Hialeah Gardens Claims $3.5 Million Lotto Jackpot

NR 03-26-02 ... On Monday, Mar 25, an independent businessman from Hialeah Gardens claimed his ½ share of the $7 million Lotto jackpot from the Mar 23 drawing at Lottery Headquarters in Tallahassee. Jesús Rodríguez (29) chose to collect his award in form of a lump-sum payment of $1,912,298 before 27% in federal withholding taxes, instead of receiving 30 annual installments of approximately $127,000 each. He traveled to the state's capital in the company of his family.

Jesús resides in Miami-Dade County, but was visiting relatives in Ocala over the weekend. On Sunday he was about to return to Miami, and just minutes after saying good-bye to his relatives, he decided to stop at a convenience store to check his Florida Lotto ticket. There, to his surprise, he discovered that he had won half of the $7 million Lotto jackpot [= $3.5 million] from the previous night's drawing. The other winning ticket, which was also sold in Miami, has not been redeemed yet.

"I went into a store Sunday morning in Ocala to have them check my Lotto ticket and it showed I was a Lotto winner from Saturday's drawing," Jesús indicated. "I ran outside and told everyone I was a Lotto winner and everyone just started crying!"

Jesús said he and other members of his family then decided to stay in Ocala on Sunday night, so that they could drive to Tallahassee on Monday morning and claim their prize.

"I usually pick my numbers using the birthdays from my family, but the winning ticket came from a Quick Pick," the winner revealed. "This is only about the fourth time that I have played Lotto since I came here." Jesús, who is originally from Cuba, escaped to Florida in 1994 on a 20-foot boat along with other family members.

He bought his lucky ticket at the Sunshine Gas store, located at 11175 SW 40^th Street in Miami. The outlet will receive half of a $10,000 retailer bonus [= $5,000] for selling one of the two Lotto jackpot winning tickets.

"I don't have any plans for my winnings yet, but I do plan to keep on working at my job because I love what I do," Jesús stated. "On my way up here, I kept thanking God that this happened to me. I still can't believe that I have won the Lotto!"

Jesús is the 125^th Florida Lotto winner with a ticket purchased in Miami-Dade County, the 82^nd winner with a ticket from the city of Miami, and the 715^th overall winner since the game began in 1988.

NR 03-25-02 ... A total of 126 Lotto jackpot winning tickets have now been purchased in 15 different cities of Miami-Dade County. The district continues to rank first among all Florida counties in total Lotto jackpot winners - ahead of Broward [59], Palm Beach [58], Hillsborough [53] and Pinellas [50]. Miami-Dade County's share of Lotto jackpot winners [126 of 716 = 17.60%] is above its proportion of overall Florida State residents [2.30 million of 16 million = 14.37%].
 

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

Lotto Jackpots By City In Miami-Dade County

NR 03-18-02 ...  Vernal Equinox ... The northern hemispheric spring begins on Wednesday, Mar 20, at precisely 02:03 pm ET. At that moment, the sun crosses the celestial equator on its move northward to the Tropic of Cancer [+23°27' declination], which it will reach on Jun 21. Since the sun has a declina-tion of 0 degrees on Mar 20, the night and day will be of the same length worldwide. Enjoy the season !!!

NR 03-17-02 ... Two players with tickets from Melbourne and Ponce Inlet share $25 million Lotto jackpot on Mar 16 !!! Each winner receives $12.50 million. The winning ticket from Ponce Inlet is the first ever from that city, which thus becomes the 220th Florida location to report a Lotto jackpot winner.

About St. Patrick's Day

NR 03-16-02 ... St. Patrick was born around 390 AD in Roman Britain. At the age of 16 he was kidnapped by Irish raiders and sold into slavery in Ireland. During his captivity he turned to religion, and after six years of laboring as a shepherd he fled to Gaul. In Gaul he studied, was ordained to the diaconate, and spent 15 years in the church of Auxerre. St. Patrick was ordained as bishop in 432 AD and returned to Ireland the same year as a missionary to convert the people to Christianity. Legend has it that he drove all of the snakes from the island. It is also said that he used the three-leafed shamrock to explain the concept of the Trinity. Thus, the strong association of the shamrock with St. Patrick's Day.

St. Patrick is a national hero in Ireland. Indeed, there are about 60 churches and cathedrals on the island named for him alone. One of the most famous is St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin, whose grounds bear the mark of the place where St. Patrick baptized his converts. Green is associated with Saint Patrick's Day because it is the color of spring, Ireland, and the shamrock.

Leprechauns are also linked to this holiday. According to folklore, the Leprechaun is an Irish fairy portrayed as being unsociable, unfriendly, and living alone. Leprechauns also make shoes and possess a hidden pot of gold. It is said that if a Leprechaun is caught by a treasure hunter, then he must tell him where the treasure is, unless the Leprechaun can trick the hunter and suddenly vanish. Leprechauns might have been created by greeting card companies in order to provide them with a cute subject to put on their cards.

Good Luck Rituals for St. Patrick's Day Finding a four-leaf clover ... that's double the usual good luck! Wearing green. School children have started a little tradition of their own recently - they pinch classmates who don't wear green on this holiday. Kissing the blarney stone. The blarney stone is built into the southern wall of Blarney Castle in County Cork, Ireland, and said to endow those who kiss it with the gift of eloquence. According to legend, the castle was once saved from attack through flattery and cajolery ... hence, the power of "blarney".

NR 03-09-02 ... One player with Altamonte Springs ticket wins $262,538 Fantasy 5 jackpot on Mar 8 !!! This is the 4^th highest individual payout in New Fantasy 5 history and the highest in Seminole County.

NR 03-07-02 ... One player with Ocala ticket wins $242,624 Fantasy 5 jackpot on Mar 6 !!! This is the highest Fantasy 5 payout registered in Marion County.