Texas

Two Texans win $1 million in Mega Millions lotto; now-billionaire winner from Illinois

Alston Gore, 38, purchases a handful of Mega Millions lottery tickets at a gas station on Freedom Drive in Charlotte, N.C., Thursday, July 28, 2022. “Every time I stop for gas, I grab a lottery ticket,” Gore said. As of July 28, Mega Millions estimated their next jackpot at a whopping $1.1 billion.
Alston Gore, 38, purchases a handful of Mega Millions lottery tickets at a gas station on Freedom Drive in Charlotte, N.C., Thursday, July 28, 2022. “Every time I stop for gas, I grab a lottery ticket,” Gore said. As of July 28, Mega Millions estimated their next jackpot at a whopping $1.1 billion. atrickett-wile@charlotteobserver

Someone in Illinois will probably remember the numbers 13-36-45-57-67-14 for the rest of their life.

That set of six numbers made him or her a billionaire Friday night when they came up as the winning digits for the $1.28 billion Mega Millions lottery jackpot.

And two people in Texas are starting their weekend as millionaires after they matched five of those numbers. One of the winning tickets were sold at a Racetrac gas station in Plano and the other at a convenience store in Prairie View, according to the Texas Lottery website. Both used quick pick numbers.

Those two tickets were among the 26 that matched five numbers, including two each in Florida, Georgia, Minnesota and North Carolina.

Nearly 10 million people won the smallest prize of $2, the same as the price they paid for their ticket. All the winners, no matter how much they won, have 180 days to collect their prize.

James Hartley
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
James Hartley was a news reporter at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram from 2019 to 2024
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