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The OTHER Big Florida Mega Millions Winner Last Night

Author Geno

Everyone’s talking about how that billion dollar winning ticket was sold in Florida, but there was a second winner worth mentioning too.

As by now you’ve surely heard, someone bought the record-setting $1.58 billion winning ticket at a Publix at 630 Atlantic Boulevard in Neptune Beach near Jacksonville. It’s the biggest prize in the game’s history. But there was a $2 million winner in Florida too. That one was purchased in Hollywood, Florida near Fort Lauderdale at the Kwik Stop at 830 Columbus Parkway. But what about here in the Tampa area?

As for our Tampa Bay lottery players, sorry. No big local winners this time. There was one big Powerball winner last month though in New Port Richey. If you want to check your ticket to see if you won one of the smaller prizes, the winning numbers drawn Tuesday were 13, 19, 20, 32, and 33, and Mega Ball was 14.

If it makes you feel any better, the big winner is going to be paying hundreds of millions in taxes and fees if they take that lump sum payment option. But they won’t pay a state income tax since they’re in Florida. Didn’t make you feel better? Then it probably won’t help that the new prize now drops to about $20 million. Chump change.

Here are some fun facts about the game’s TWO big winners before last night…

10 Things About Florida's 2 Biggest Mega Millions $100+ Million Wins

  • Neither player picked the winning numbers.

    Do you play your lucky numbers or do you let the machine pick? Both winners used the QuickPick option.

  • The $451 Million winner couldn't celebrate with champagne.

    Shane Missler of Port Richey was only 20 years old when we became Florida’s biggest lottery winner ever. He said he wasn’t surprised with the win. He just had “a feeling.” He first told his brother and then delivered the news to his father over coffee the next morning.

  • Being a football fan seems to help.

    Both big Florida Mega Millions winners were big football fans. Shane Missler used his winnings to see his favorite team the New England Patriots play in the Super Bowl. Raymond Moyer and Robyn Collier said they planned to spend their winnings to go to as many Notre Dame games as they could.

  • Neither winner bought the ticket at Publix.

    Since the grocery chain sells so many lottery tickets, many conspiracy theorists think there’s a bias and a disproportionate number of winners that come from Publix. Neither of the 2 big winning tickets were purchased with a Pub Sub.

  • The first big winner had to share.

    Raymond Moyer and Robyn Collier of Merritt Island had to share their winnings as a Maryland player also picked the winning numbers. Taking the lump sum payment and having to share the money meant the $414 million jackpot turned into a mere $115,448,968 win for them. We’re pretty sure they weren’t too disappointed. Florida Today reported Collier had less than $5 cash when she filed for bankruptcy two years before the win.

  • Little victories.

    Only two Florida Mega Millions players have been mega winners but 64 million have won smaller prizes from $2 to $2,000,000, totaling just over $806 million.

  • Both winners chose the cash option.

    You can take home more money by opting to receive annual payments of your winnings. But both big jackpot winners opted to just cash in and take a lump sum payment. The Port Richey winner took a $281,874,999 check.

  • Running low on gas?

    Both big money winners bought their tickets at gas stations. One was a 7-Eleven in Port Richey. The other was at a Sunoco on Merritt Island near Melbourne.

  • One Florida winner of almost a billion.

    Although no Florida lottery players have won a billion dollars, the state’s education system is getting close. Since Florida joined Mega Millions in 2013, the game has generated almost $818 million for education.

  • You have 90 days to vanish.

    If you plan on becoming Florida’s next millionaire, know a few things. First, you only have 60 days to claim your prize if you want to cash out right away. You have 180 days if you’re going to take the annual payments.  And after 90 days, your name becomes public.

Hey it's Geno. Thanks for reading. Got something to add to this story? Connect with me on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

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