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Almost mega-rich! Florida player wins $1M but misses Mega Millions jackpot

One Florida player snagged a $1 million prize in Tuesday's Mega Millions drawing — just one number shy of the massive $250 million jackpot.

Publix, located at 10500 Ulmerton Road in Largo.
Publix, located at 10500 Ulmerton Road in Largo, where the $4 million winning Mega Millions ticket for the June 11, 2024 draw was sold. Photograph credit to Google Maps.
Todd Betzold

The Mega Millions jackpot stood at $250 million for the Tuesday, October 29, drawing, and one player in Florida came oh-so-close to taking home that huge jackpot.

What were the winning Mega Millions numbers last night?

It was Tuesday night, which means Mega Millions night. Heading into the night, the jackpot had grown to $250 million, with a cash option of $115.5 million.

The winning white ball numbers for the October 29 drawing were 16, 22, 26, 36, and 56, and the Mega Ball was 1 with the Megaplier being 4X.

Florida player comes up short

While there were no tickets that matched all six of the winning numbers to win the $250 million jackpot, there was one lucky ticket in Florida that came up one number short.

The Quick Pick ticket, which was purchased at the Publix Liquor Store in Kissimmee, matched all five of the winning white ball numbers to win the second-tier prize amount of $1 million. They didn't purchase the Megaplier option, though, which would have increased their winnings to $4 million.

In addition to the Florida winner, the draw game also saw 13 tickets win $10,000 for matching four numbers plus the Mega Ball, with one player increasing that prize to $40,000 because of the Megaplier. There were 460 tickets that matched four numbers to win $500, including 111 tickets that had the Megaplier option to increase their winnings to $2,000. There were also over 500,000 tickets that matched anywhere from the Mega Ball only to three numbers plus the Mega Ball to win prizes ranging from $2 up to $800.

Mega Millions jackpot continues to grow

With no jackpot winner in last night's drawing, the Mega Millions jackpot continues to grow.

The current estimated jackpot stands at $281 million, with a cash option of $129.8 million. The next Mega Millions drawing will take place on Friday, November 1, 2024, at 11:00 p.m. ET.

Another Florida player cashes in on Megaplier

While this recent Florida winner didn't choose the Megaplier option when purchasing their Mega Millions ticket, another lucky winner did and turned their $1 million win into a $4 million win.

The Florida Lottery announced that 40-year-old Mega Chora of Largo recently claimed her second-tier prize for the Mega Millions draw game at lottery headquarters in Tallahassee.

Chora purchased her $4 million-winning Mega Millions with Megaplier ticket at Publix, located at 10500 Ulmerton Road in Largo.

The winning ticket was for the June 11, 2024, drawing. The winning white ball numbers for that drawing were 1, 5, 7, 22, and 24, and the Mega Ball was 8, with the Megaplier being 4X.

Chora matched all five of the white ball numbers, but missed out on matching the Mega Ball number. Since she purchased the Megaplier option, she won $4 million.

For selling the winning ticket, the Publix on Ulmerton Road in Largo received a $5,000 bonus from the state lottery.

Since the Florida Lottery joined Mega Millions in 2013, the draw game has helped generate more than $1.21 billion for education. They have also awarded $1.89 billion in prizes to 82 million players.

Enjoy playing the Florida Lottery, and please remember to play responsibly.

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