News Releases

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Ocala Man Claims $1.2 Million Mega Money Jackpot

NR 07-29-02 ... On Monday, Jul 29, Richard Grow (33) of Ocala claimed the $1,197,353 Mega Money jackpot from the Jul 26 drawing at Lottery Headquarters in Tallahassee. He was accompanied by his wife Shannon (33).

"I guess I really didn't know I won until I got home and went online and saw there was one winner, which showed the amount and that's how I knew. My first purchase was a new 2003 Corvette that I bought on Saturday after I found out," Richard said. He indicated that he purchased three Mega Money Quick Pick tickets at the Kwik King Food Store, located at 12905 E Highway 25 in Ocklawaha, one of them being the winner.

This was the second highest individual payout in Mega Money history, falling just $2,165 short of the $1,199,518 jackpot won by Priscilla Miller (53) of Lynn Haven on 01-16-01. The 5-draw rollover series generated an estimated $450,000 for public education benefits in Florida.

NR 07-28-02 ... Two players with tickets from Boca Raton and Okeechobee share $235,519 Fantasy 5 jackpot on Jul 27 !!! Each winner receives $117,760. The winning ticket from Okeechobee is the highest Fantasy 5 payout in Okeechobee County.

New Port Richey Couple Claims ½ Share Of $15.54 Million Lotto Jackpot

NR 07-18-02 ... On Wednesday, Jul 17, a retired couple from New Port Richey claimed their ½ share of the $15.54 million Lotto jackpot from the Jul 6 drawing at Lottery Headquarters in Tallahassee. Manuel (70) and Margery Messina chose to collect their award in form of a single cash payment of $3,921,455 before federal withholding taxes, instead of receiving 30 annual installments of approximately $256,000 each.

Higher-than-expected sales had actually increased the previously estimated jackpot of $15.00 million to $15.54 million. The other winning ticket, which was sold in Seminole, was redeemed by Mark Roberts (42) on the same day and - coincidentally - even at the same time [see story below].

Margery bought the winning ticket on the 4th of July while shopping at Publix and after noting that the jackpot had reached $15.00 million. She purchased a ticket with a set of five Quick Picks, and the fourth combination on the ticket was the lucky one that won the jackpot prize.

The Publix Supermarket where Margery acquired her winning ticket is located at 1346 Seven Springs Boulevard in New Port Richey. The Publix Corporation will receive a $5,000 retailer bonus for selling one of the two jackpot winning tickets.

The ticket was stuck to the couple's refrigerator with a magnet until Sunday afternoon [Jul 7] when a TV announcement prompted Manuel to check his numbers.

"I was checking the numbers, so first I told my wife that we won three numbers," said Manuel, who is a retired electrical engineer. "Then I said, 'Oh, we won four numbers. Oh, we won five numbers! Oh! We won six numbers!"

"We just looked at each other and said, 'We got six numbers! We won the Lotto!'" Margery remarked.

"We spent the rest of the week double checking the numbers," Manuel commented. They also put the ticket in a safe deposit box and got legal and financial advice from professionals.

"We are still in disbelief," Manuel stated.

The couple expressed that they have no immediate plans for their winnings. "We have been very happy with what we have," Manuel indicated. "We have been blessed."

"We'll keep the money in a safe place until the emotions settle down; then we'll decide how we want to handle it. We will do whatever the good Lord wants us to do and he will let us know."

The Messinas have four grown children who were also shocked by the news. "The reaction I got from them ranged from "Wow!" to "No way!" Margery reported. "They were very excited and happy for us."

The Messinas are the 15^th Florida Lotto winners with a ticket purchased in Pasco County, the 5^th winners with a ticket from the city of New Port Richey, and the 726^th overall winners since the game began in 1988.

Seminole Man Claims ½ Share Of $15.54 Million Lotto Jackpot

NR 07-18-02 ... On Wednesday, Jul 17, a man from Seminole claimed his ½ share of the $15.54 million Lotto jackpot from the Jul 6 drawing at Lottery Headquarters in Tallahassee. Mark Roberts (42) opted to collect his award in form of 30 annual installments of approximately $256,000 each. Mark traveled to the state's capital in the company of his wife Vicky (41) and their daughter Sara.

Higher-than-expected sales had actually increased the previously estimated jackpot of $15.00 million to $15.54 million. The other winning ticket, which was sold in New Port Richey, was redeemed by Manuel Messina (70) on the same day and - coincidentally - even at the same time [see story above].

"After I stopped at the store to get some gas, I was in a hurry, so at the last minute I bought $5.00 worth of Lotto Quick Pick tickets," said Mark, who is a self-employed businessman. "I normally buy just $3.00 worth of tickets, but since the jackpot was at $15.00 million, I decided to buy $5.00. I'm glad I did now!"

Mark purchased his lucky ticket at the 7-Eleven store, located at 7612 Starkey Road in Seminole. The 7-Eleven Corporation has received a $5,000 retailer bonus for selling one of the two jackpot winning tickets.

"I was having coffee and breakfast on my back porch the Sunday morning after the drawing [Jul 7] when I saw the winning Lotto numbers in our newspaper," Mark observed. "When I saw that I had all six of the numbers, I nearly had a heart attack! I was in disbelief."

Mark added that Vicky, who works as a nurse, then looked at his winning Lotto numbers, and she couldn't believe it either. "We wanted to see the numbers on TV, but it was too early in the day, so we drove to a couple of Lottery retailers and got a printout of the winning Lotto numbers," Vicky stated. "After that, we realized we had really won!"

The Roberts indicated that they plan to use some of their winnings for investments, to start a college fund for their daughter, and to buy a personal computer for home. They also plan to buy Sara a new Jeep Cherokee for her to drive to school.

"We didn't tell Sara until Thursday after the drawing [Jul 11] that we had won because we were busy making financial plans for our money," Vicky revealed. "One of the first things she asked us was ... 'Can I buy the Jeep now that I've been wanting since I got my driver's license?'"

Both Mark and Vicky mentioned that they plan to continue working at their jobs and that they will keep playing Florida Lottery games.

Mark is the 51^st Florida Lotto winner with a ticket purchased in Pinellas County, the 5^th winner with a ticket from the city of Seminole, and the 725^th overall winner since the game began in 1988.

Clearwater Man Claims $4 Million Lotto Jackpot

NR 07-15-02 ... On Monday, Jul 15, a man from Clearwater claimed the $4.00 million Lotto jackpot from the Jul 13 drawing at Lottery Headquarters in Tallahassee. Michael Vollstedt chose to collect his award in form of a lump-sum payment of $2,064,119 before federal withholding taxes, instead of receiving 30 annual installments of approximately $133,333 each.

Michael said that he used family birthday numbers to pick his winning combination. The winning numbers for the Jul 13 Lotto draw are: [1 – 5 - 10 - 16 - 19 – 20].

Michael bought his lucky ticket at Publix Supermarket, located at 525 Belcher Road in Clearwater. Publix Corporation will receive a $10,000 retailer bonus for selling the jackpot winning ticket.

This is already the second time that a jackpot winning Lotto ticket was purchased at this Publix. In May 1999, the Rosa Hegyi family of Clearwater also acquired a Lotto ticket there and won $9.43 million of a $66.00 million jackpot which was shared by seven winners.

Michael is the 52^nd Florida Lotto winner with a ticket purchased in Pinellas County, the 12^th winner with a ticket from the city of Clearwater, and the 728^th overall winner since the game began in 1988.

Houston Brothers Claim $36.45 Million Lotto Jackpot

NR 07-14-02 ... On Friday, Jul 12, two men from Houston, Texas, claimed the $36.45 million Lotto jackpot from the May 15 drawing at Lottery Headquarters in Tallahassee - nearly two months after the drawing. Their claim was made in the name of VTPM Investments, LTD of Houston.

Brothers Tyrone and Tomie Magee, the general partners of the limited partnership, chose to receive their prize in form of 30 annual installments of approximately $1,215,000 each. Higher-than-expected sales had increased the previously estimated jackpot of $35.00 million to $36.45 million.

The Magees bought their lucky Quick Pick ticket at the Speedway Station, located at 6058 Sisson Road in Titusville. The store has received a $10,000 retailer bonus for selling the jackpot winning ticket.

The Magees are the 24^th Florida Lotto winners with a ticket purchased in Brevard County, the 3^rd winners with a ticket from the city of Titusville, and the 720^th overall winners since the game began in 1988.

NR 07-13-02 ... Four players with tickets from Fort Walton Beach, Lakeport, Ocala and Orange City share $239,299 Fantasy 5 jackpot on Jul 12 !!! Each winner receives $59,825. The winning ticket from Lakeport is the first ever from Glades County, which thus becomes the 54th Florida county [out of 67] to report a Fantasy 5 jackpot winner.

Orange County Registers 22nd Lotto Jackpot

NR 07-12-02 ... One player with a ticket from Orlando wins $3.00 million Lotto jackpot on 10 Jul 02. This is the first Lotto main prize registered in Orange County in 2002, and the 22nd since the game began in 1988. The last Lotto jackpot won by an Orange County ticket had been a $28.00 million prize on 25 Jul 01, exactly 50 weeks and 100 draws ago.

A total of 22 Lotto jackpot winning tickets have now been purchased in 4 different locations of Orange County. The city of Orlando registered its 18th Lotto jackpot, and the cities of Ocoee [2], Winter Garden and Winter Park account for the other 4 jackpots.
 

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

Orange County currently ranks 11th among all Florida counties in total Lotto jackpot winners. The district's share of Lotto jackpot winners [22 of 727 = 3.03%] lies below its proportion of overall Florida State residents [950,000 of 16.8 million = 5.65%].
 

Lotto Jackpots By City In Orange County

NR 07-11-02 ... Two players with tickets from Crawfordville and Satellite Beach share $223,650 Fantasy 5 jackpot on Jul 10 !!! Each winner receives $111,825. The winning ticket from Crawfordville is the highest Fantasy 5 payout in Wakulla County.

NR 07-04-02 ... Three players with tickets from Miami, Okeechobee and Sarasota share $239,836 Fantasy 5 jackpot on Jul 3 !!! Each winner receives $79,945. The winning ticket from Okeechobee is the first ever from Okeechobee County, which thus becomes the 53rd Florida county [out of 67] to report a Fantasy 5 jackpot winner.