By Todd Northrop
Gladstone, Mich. — Friday night's single winning Mega Millions lottery ticket, worth $140 million, was sold in the Upper Peninsula town of Gladstone, Michigan.
The Mega Millions Lottery is offered in 35 states, and holds the record for the largest jackpot in North American history.
According to lottery officials, the ticket was sold at the Grain 'N' Grape Store on U.S. 2 in Gladstone.
Clerk Sheila Wedell received a call from the Associated Press Saturday morning, and after confirming with lottery commission officials, it was determined that the winning ticket was in fact sold at the Grain 'N' Grape.
She says she was shocked because she wasn't notified right away by the lottery terminal.
Lottery business is fairly steady, especially with several self-proclaimed 'lottery clubs' in the area, but she says all of the hype is exciting for the store.
"Everybody's coming in saying, 'Oh man we hope it's a local person, we hope since it wasn't me that it's somebody who knows me and loves me!' I mean it's kind of fun you know, everybody's really hoping the best for a local, and truthfully we really hope it's one of our loyal customers that, kind of a reward for always shopping with us, that'd be really groovy."
The winning numbers in Friday evening's drawing of the multi-state Mega Millions game were 4, 19, 26, 28, and 39. The Mega Ball was 14. The Megaplier number was 4.
The Michigan winner has one year to claim the prize before it expires.
In addition to the $140 million jackpot winner, six lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $250,000 prize: 1 from California, 1 from New Jersey, 3 from New York, and 1 from Ohio.
Second-prize Mega Millions winners receive prizes of $250,000 each, except for the California winning ticket, which is worth $450,559. California uses a pari-mutuel prize payout formula, which calculates the prize amount based on the amount wagered and the number of winners.
Tuesday's Mega Millions jackpot is $12 million.
Ol well ,,,,,,,,,maybe next time for me....hope the ticket holder has only good things happen to them
Now the family can gather around the fireplace or campfire and sing, Happy Days Are Here Again -- and just before the holidays, too. May the winner be blessed with peace and happiness.
"Everybody's coming in saying, 'Oh man we hope it's a local person, we hope since it wasn't me that it's somebody who knows me and loves me!'
Looks like the moochers are lineing up already.
I look forward to hearing about the winner. I wish them many happy filled years ahead.
Wonder if the ticket was purchased for the annuity or cash value?
Went to the Mega Millions Lottery web site but saw nothing about it
In Ohio a winner has up to sixty days after the drawing to decide if he wants the annuity or cash value, it's probably similar in Michigan. After 60 days it defaults to annuity.
Wow!! I wonder how many players in Ohio knows that. I guess I better go to the TX site and read everything available. If that was to happen to me I would most definately not be happy. Something like that would never have occurred to me.
Ohio removed the square to mark cash or annuity on their play slips years ago.
In Texas, a player must choose cash option at the time of purchase when buying Powerball, Mega Millions, or Texas Lotto. If the player does not choose cash option, then it defaults to annuity.
Nice to see one sold out in the sticks for a change.
Yeah, I had to look up what "U.P." meant when writing the story. (Answer: Upper Peninsula)
Lottery jackpot winning comes right before Halloween. Sweet!
Yeah, they got them wolverines up there in the woods. I think I'd rather deal with the bears.
LOL, look up two things: Escanaba in da Moonlight (movie with Jeff Daniels) and music by Da Yoopers. No one makes better fun of Yoopers than Yoopers themselves. Btw, Michigan's UP is beautiful. To stand on the shores of Lake Superior in the middle of winter is jaw dropping.
Good for Michigan for picking up a winner finally. Congrats to the winners.
Now that I've sold my house in Michigan and ran as fast as I could back home to Texas... we need a MM or PB winner in Texas... me!
In Maryland you have 182 days from the date of the drawing to claim a winning ticket on any lottery game.
UP in the UP aye, also known as yoopers, anyone born below the Mackinaw bridge is a troll...
Chippewa county ..exit 378 great place to party.
Congrats to the winners.
Yeah if you ever want to get beat and robbed drop by Ypsilanti for a cup of coffee..Let tiggs know how you make out..
Or fudgies!
I live fairly close to the U.P. - and yes, it is a stunningly beautiful place.
Congrats to Gladstone.
Time for someone in the boonies of PA to win!
Thanks RJOh, a lot of online lottery ticket buyers still don't know about this mandatory "switch to annuity" if not indicated by them, the claimant, within 60 days of the DRAWING DATE. Even though vital information is clearly printed on the state and particular lottery's website under the FAQ section, yet not the back of the ticket. When there is a contradiction between the multi-state lottery won and the state ticket was purchased in's state lottery headquarters rules, the state's rules win. By the way, most people can use their local library's Internet connection for free to check this and information about if their lottery-ticket-PURCHASE- STATE allows anonymous prize receival (very few do).
Many online lottery ticket players have a plan in place to move into a hotel AFTER they have received financial advice from a competent tax attorney and investment counselor seated together in a meeting to cancel out each others brainstorming ideas if they don't make tax avoidance sense (sometimes, depending on the state's odd rules, it can be quite exhausting). Then their quiet (even relatives and friends aren't informed) move into the hotel occurs the SAME day their claim (or send their attorney to submit their claim form in person and collect official receipt) at the lottery headquarters office of the state in which they purchased the ticket takes place. [Some winners even take a taxi to the lottery headquarters, since they know that wise media photographer 'stringers' hang out in the parking lot each day until the last big jackpot win prize is officially claimed -- then they take a picture of the license plate AND the person who submits the claim form. Do you want that to be you, or do you want to be happily wealthy and unknown until your natural passing away?]
When looking at the two biggest U.S.A. multi-state lottery game's past jackpot winners, I notice that it is very rare for someone to accept the win as an annuity (only one every 1.5 years). I'm not sure if that fell on jackpot winners who didn't claim until past the 60 day deadline to receive as the far lesser cash value amount.
To me this proves that most of the jackpot winners are anticipating a win just-around-the-corner and therefore check their post-drawing tickets at least monthly. Perhaps that is how they show 'respectful interest' in allowing the monies to flow into their life and that is indeed what happens.