A Lee County woman has made history as being the first millionaire winner of the new $20 Jackson game — the largest prize offered on a scratch-off from the Mississippi Lottery Corporation.
The winner claimed her prize funds at the Mississippi Lottery Headquarters after purchasing several tickets at the Blue Sky on North Gloster in Tupelo on Friday, finding that she had won the highest possible winnings while at work hours later.
“I told the kids I had a surprise to tell them when we got home,” she said. “One joked I’d won a million dollars. I gave them cookies, instead. They were disappointed. Then, I told them I had in fact won one million dollars!”
The shocked player told Mississippi Lottery officials that she kept her ticket with her all weekend before securing her grand prize on Monday. The ticketholder has since said that she plans to keep working and use the funds to help purchase a new home for her family by the end of the year.
“This is phenomenal,” Mississippi Lottery President Jeff Hewitt explained. “What a great moment for this player and her family. With this game selling so well, we knew one of the big winners had to come in any day now.”
An additional top prize of $1 million and a 2nd Chance prize of $1 million remain on this ticket, along with numerous other jackpots.
Mississippi Lottery officials are reminding players to check their tickets as there are several jackpots that remain unclaimed throughout the state.
One player matched all five numbers during Friday’s Match 5 drawing, winning the $56,000 jackpot. The winning ticket was purchased from Ramey’s #22 in Pascagoula before being claimed on Monday.
A second player was able to match four out of five balls and the Mega Ball during Friday’s Mega Millions drawing worth $10,000. The winner, who purchased the ticket from Cefco Convenience Store in Philadelphia, claimed their grand prize on Monday.
Two more Mega Millions players have hit the jackpot within the past few months, but have not yet secured their prizes. One player has until March 6 to claim their $30,000 prize after purchasing the ticket from Blue Sky #637 in Jackson on September 8. Another winner has until April 21 to take their $10,000 prize after buying a ticket from Sprint Mart #49 in Tupelo in late October.
