These lottery tickets were worth millions — now the winners are cashing in

Lottery players across the country are turning winning tickets into some serious paydays. We have seen several recent claims ranging from $1.25 million to $7.5 million from players in Michigan to Texas. This latest batch of winners all took very different routes to their fortunes. One Michigan player couldn’t sleep after finding out he won, a New York ticket received a perfectly timed Mega Millions multiplier, and a Texas Quick Pick ended an 11-drawing jackpot run. Take a look at some of the latest lottery players cashing in.

Quick Pick delivers $7.5 million in Texas

The biggest prize of the group was claimed by a Houston resident. It was a $7.5 million Lotto Texas jackpot. The lucky winner chose the Quick Pick option when buying their ticket. They matched all six of the winning numbers — 14, 17, 25, 26, 30, and 37 — in the September 5 drawing.

When buying the ticket, the winner chose the cash-value option. Because of that, they received $3.97 million before taxes.

The jackpot began at $5 million on August 12. It rolled through 11 drawings before the winning ticket, which was purchased at a Kroger in Houston, brought the jackpot run to an end. The Kroger will receive a $25,000 bonus for selling the jackpot-winning ticket.

Mega Millions multiplier comes up big

A Mega Millions ticket purchased in Newburgh, New York, delivered a much bigger-than-usual second-tier prize.

Blue Pegasus Holdings LLC of New Windsor claimed $4 million from the June 9 drawing after matching all five of the winning white balls — 9, 30, 36, 38, and 40 — but missing the Mega Ball, which was 3.

For Mega Millions players, they know that normally, when a player matches all five white balls, they win a $1 million prize. However, this lucky ticket received a randomly assigned 4X multiplier when it was purchased, which boosted the payout to $4 million.

The winning ticket was purchased at Smokes 4 Less in Newburgh. After the required withholdings, the claimant received a lump-sum payment of $2.6 million.

$3 million scratch-off winner in Pennsylvania

There is also a new multimillion-dollar winner in Pennsylvania. Lottery officials announced a $3 million top-prize ticket from the scratch-off game The Hunt was sold at a 7-Eleven in South Park Township in Allegheny County.

The $30 scratch-off offers $3 million as its top prize. For selling the winning ticket, the 7-Eleven will receive a $10,000 bonus.

This Michigan winner had a sleepless night

An Oakland County man found out right before bed that his Lotto 47 ticket had won the $1.25 million jackpot. Needless to say, sleep quickly became an afterthought.

The 73-year-old player, who chose to remain anonymous, matched all six of the winning numbers — 2, 12, 20, 30, 31, and 42 — in the September 9 drawing. He bought the ticket online through the Michigan Lottery.

The win actually came just days after his wife jokingly asked if he was ever going to win big. It did happen, but the couple initially thought it might be a scam when the $1.25 million prize notification appeared in his online account. He then logged out and back in before checking the winning numbers to make sure it was real.

“Needless to say, I didn’t get much sleep that night!” he told lottery officials.

He later had a family FaceTime call with his children, during which he surprised them by sending them a screenshot of the winning notification. The man chose the lump-sum payment, which was approximately $866,000. He plans on saving the money.

From an online ticket checked before bed to a Quick Pick worth millions, the latest claims show there is no single path to a seven-figure lottery payday. Enjoy playing the lottery, and please remember to play responsibly.