The story will eventually come out.
With lottery winners, it always does.
In Michigan, someone in the town of Novi bought a Mega Millions ticket that just won a $1.05 billion-dollar prize. It was the biggest Mega Millions jackpot ever and according to an article at Hometown Life, the rumor mill has focused on some area teachers.
Perhaps they have indeed grabbed the lottery’s golden ticket. But as of now, no one knows.
“It’s a random game of chance, you never know when it will hit or when they will come forward,” Jake Harris, a communications specialist with the Michigan Lottery, told Hometown Life. “It’s kind of like that scene in Willy Wonka, when they are digging for the chocolate bar and then yell, ‘I’ve got it!’”
That person – whoever it is – hasn’t appeared in Michigan yet. The official story has yet to arrive.
In Canada, it has.
Lottery dream becomes reality twenty years later
A woman in Ontario, Canada had been playing the same lotto numbers for 20 years that her husband had once dreamed about. In December, that persistence finally paid off.
According to CNN.com, Deng Pravatoudom‘s unflinching belief in those numbers brought home a lottery win worth $60 million.
And here in Pennsylvania, the lottery is turning people into millionaires all across the state.
On Tuesday, the Pennsylvania Lottery announced that a player in Bradford County just won $1 million on a Millionaire’s Club Scratch-Off.
Just one week earlier, someone at a Wawa in Chester County also won a $1-million prize on the Jackpot Party Scratch-Off.
Near misses in Mega Millions result in a pair of million-dollar prizes in PA
Two Pennsylvania players also took home a million dollars each in the Mega Millions drawing that made a billionaire in Michigan. Those players matched all the numbers from the Mega Millions except for the Mega Ball.
According to WGAL, one of those million-dollar tickets was sold at a Sunoco in Chambersburg. The other was sold at Gingrich’s Food Market near Lancaster (according to FOX43).
A player from New Jersey also matched those same five numbers, bringing home a million there as well.
The Mega Millions drawing came just two days after a Powerball ticket was sold at an old mining-town in Maryland that matched all six numbers. That jackpot totaled $731.1 million.
And on a slightly smaller scale, a player in Norristown won nearly $300,000 in the “I Like Big Bucks” drawing on January 21st.
Pennsylvania’s daily lotteries continue to pay dividends as well. Winners from the state’s draw games are updated regularly on the PA lottery website.
Second Chance drawings give losing tickets another life
Even the non-winners have another shot. The Pennsylvania Lottery’s End of the Rainbow Second Chance drawing has begun, giving losing tickets a chance to redeem themselves.
As noted by The Progress News, non-winning Find the Leprechaun, O’Lucky Coin and Clover All Over Scratch-Off tickets may be entered between now and March 25, 2021 for chances to win numerous prizes worth $17,000, $7,000, or $700. There’s also a chance to win $100 to play PA online lottery games.
Starting Tuesday, Feb. 2 through March 25, non-winning 17, Good Luck Charm$ and Four Leaf Loot Fast Play tickets may be entered for chances to win similar prizes as well.
Players can enter the tickets through the VIP Players Club at palottery.com or scan-to-enter using the official lottery app. Winners will be announced at palottery.com. You can find entry instructions, prize details, rules, restrictions, and drawing information there too.
So even the losing tickets have one last hope.
Maybe they will redeem themselves. Maybe they’ll finish as a winner in the end.
And if they do, the story will eventually come out.
Lead image via Dreamstime.