But nobody in Florida won the $1.28 billion jackpot
On Friday July 29 the latest draw took place for the Mega Millions National Lottery - and the record biggest ever top prize of £1.28 billion was up for grabs.
Sadly, nobody in Florida won the jackpot - that went to a ticket purchased in Illinois, but it wasn't all bad news. Five players in Florida became millionaires after matching the required number of numbers in the draw. Three Floridians will receive $2 million prizes and two more will receive $1 million.
Florida was the state with the most $1 million+ prizes, and the only state that saw multiple wins of $2 million.
Is there such a thing as lucky state?
The large number of jackpot wins in Florida may be a sign that more Floridians buy tickets for the lottery, or it may signify that the state is just a lucky place to live.
Certainly, there have been many large prizes won this year in the Florida state lottery, including a Lakeland man who won a $5 million jackpot prize on a Florida State Lottery 'Gold Rush' scratch-off game in March. Later in the same month a Miami man won an even bigger prize on the national Cash4Life draw.
Hugo Juliao won $1,000 each day, for life, but opted to take his prize as a one-off lump sum of $7 million rather than taking it in daily or monthly payments. It would have taken him a little over 19 years to receive the same amount of money.
Lucky places to buy tickets?
If you believe in luck, then you might be interested in buying your lottery tickets from stores that have sold winning tickets in the past. Mr Juliao bought his $7 million-winning Cash4Life quick pick at a Publix supermarket in Miami.
Surveys suggest that Publix outlets could be amongst the luckiest stores in Florida for buying winning lottery tickets. In January of this year, two jackpot prizes of $13.75 million and $1 million were paid out to tickets purchased in Publix stores in Wildwood and Weston.
A 2018 survey carried out by ClickOrlando revealed that Publix supermarkets accounted for five of the top 10 most winning retailers in Central Florida:
A life-changing win?
Lottery jackpot wins are often referred to as life-changing.
But often, the biggest jackpot winners quickly lose their new-found wealth or find themselves worse-off within months or years. There are many stories of lottery winners who quickly ended up back where they'd started or even further behind, by spending all their money or by falling for scams.
A study from MIT found that Lottery winners are more likely to declare bankruptcy within three to five years than the average American.
The lesson then? If you're intent on playing the lottery, only stake what you can afford to lose, and if you win - seek financial advice! To the five new Floridian millionaires who won on the Mega Millions draw on July 29 - congratulations!
What would you do with the money if you happened to win big on the Florida state lottery or on a national lottery like Mega Millions? Do you play the lottery regularly, and if so, how much do you spend each week in the hope of winning millions? Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.
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