A Manassas, Virginia, man was advised that his Mega Million ticket was not a winner, however after he checked it a number of weeks later and requested for a second opinion, he realized he was the winner of $1 million.
According to a press launch issued by the Virginia Lottery, Malcolm Meredith held on to his lottery ticket from the May 20 drawing regardless of being advised it was not a profitable ticket.
When he seemed on the ticket weeks later, he realized he gained some amount of cash, but it surely wasn’t till he took the ticket to the Virginia Lottery’s Northern Virginia Service Center that Meredith realized he gained $1 million.
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What Is Mega Millions?
According to the Virginia Lottery, the Mega Millions drawing happens twice every week. Players can win the jackpot or different money prizes on the $2 ticket.
“Every Mega Millions jackpot grows until the jackpot is won,” the group mentioned. “Any Mega Millions jackpot can be won by a single individual or by multiple people.”
Players select 5 numbers that vary between one and 70 and choose a “Mega Ball” quantity from one to 25.
The amount of cash {that a} participant can win might differ, relying on what number of profitable numbers a participant matches on their ticket.
“If more than one ticket matches all six numbers in a drawing, winners will share the jackpot,” the group mentioned. “Jackpot winners will choose Annual Payout or Cash Option when they claim their prize.”
A participant in Illinois hit all six numbers and gained the Mega Millions $1.227 billion jackpot, which is the second-largest lottery within the sport’s historical past.
Profits generated by lottery gross sales return to assist fund public training from grades Ok by 12 in Virginia. In 2000, the State Lottery Proceeds Fund was created because of greater than 80 % of Virginia voters.
“The measure, now a permanent part of Virginia’s Constitution, directs all Virginia Lottery profits to be used solely for educational purposes,” the group mentioned.
Meredith, although he didn’t win the jackpot, matched the primary 5 profitable numbers, lacking the Mega Ball quantity.
Unique vs Random Lottery Numbers
He bought the ticket at a Harris Teeter location in Manassas and allowed the pc to randomly choose the numbers.
“If he had matched all six numbers, Mr. Meredith would have won a jackpot estimated at $131 million,” the discharge mentioned. “Nevertheless, it was the only ticket in the nation to match the first five numbers in that drawing.”
While Meredith gained his prize, the Harris Teeter location he bought the ticket from additionally receives a $10,000 bonus for promoting the profitable ticket.
Newsweek reached out to Virginia Lottery for remark.
Another man in Virginia gained $250,000 after he determined to make use of the quantity he noticed in a dream.
Todd Graves, the founding father of Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers, purchased about 50,000 lottery tickets for his workers and mentioned that if any of the tickets have been winners, the prize can be evenly cut up among the many staff.