Two Mega Millions tickets just miss jackpot — but still win big in same Florida town
Two Mega Millions tickets just missed hitting the jackpot — but still won life-changing prizes in the same Florida town.
The player or players bought tickets that matched all but one number picked in the drawing Tuesday, June 11. Since they spent an extra dollar on the Megaplier option, the $1 million prizes quadrupled to $4 million, according to game rules and drawing results.
The winning numbers: white balls 1-5-7-22-24, with gold Mega Ball 8.
The lucky tickets were sold at Publix grocery stores less than one mile apart in Largo, in the Tampa Bay area. One came from the supermarket at 10411 Ulmerton Road, while the other came from the location at 10500 Ulmerton Road, the Florida Lottery wrote in a news release.
The tickets — along with ones sold in Georgia, Massachusetts, New York (two) and Pennsylvania — matched all five white balls. But the players were just one number from scoring the even larger jackpot prize, estimated at $30 million the night of the drawing, according to the Mega Millions website.
The lottery in its release didn’t say whether the $4 million prizes had been claimed. The state gives winners about six months to cash in on prizes in drawing games.
What to know about Mega Millions
To score the jackpot in the Mega Millions, a player must match all five white balls and the gold Mega Ball.
The odds of scoring a jackpot prize are 1 in 302,575,350.
Tickets cost $2 and can be bought on the day of the drawing, but sales times vary by state.
Drawings are held Tuesdays and Fridays at 11 p.m. ET and can be streamed online.
Mega Millions is played in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
This story was originally published June 12, 2024 at 7:32 AM with the headline "Two Mega Millions tickets just miss jackpot — but still win big in same Florida town."
