Winning ticket for $494M lottery jackpot sold in Fort Myers, Florida, weeks after Hurricane Ian

Chris Sims, Louisville Courier Journal
·2 min read
174

Two winning tickets have been announced in the Mega Millions lottery sweepstakes worth nearly $500 million, and one of them was sold in a city still reeling from hurricane devastation.

The numbers have dropped for the Friday, Oct. 14 lottery jackpot worth an estimated $494 million, with a cash option of $247.9 million.

The winning numbers for Friday night's drawing were 9, 22, 26, 41, 44, and the Mega Ball was 19. The Megaplier was 2X.

Two tickets purchased matched all six numbers to win a share of the Mega Millions jackpot. One ticket was purchased in California and the other was sold in Florida.

The winning ticket sold in Florida was purchased at a 7-Eleven in Fort Myers, an area that is still reeling after devastation caused by Hurricane Ian less than three weeks ago.

Two more tickets matched all five numbers except for the Mega Ball worth $1 million. Winning tickets were bought in North Carolina and New Jersey.

One ticket purchased in Texas matched all five numbers except for the Mega Ball and included the Megaplier worth $2 million.

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When is the next Mega Millions drawing?

The Mega Millions jackpot for Tuesday's drawing will reset to an estimated $20 million with a cash option of $10.0 million, according to megamillions.com.

Drawings are held two times per week at approximately 11 p.m. ET every Tuesday and Friday.

September: Two people finally claim $1.34 billion Mega Millions lottery winnings

Top 10 Mega Millions lottery jackpots

Here are the all-time top 10 Mega Millions jackpots, according to megamillions.com:

  • $1.537 billion — Oct. 23, 2018; South Carolina.

  • $1.337 billion — July 29, 2022; Illinois.

  • $1.05 billion — Jan. 22, 2021; Michigan

  • $656 million — Mar. 30, 2012; Kansas, Illinois, Maryland.

  • $648 million — Dec. 17, 2013; California, Georgia.

  • $543 million — July 24, 2018; California.

  • $536 million — July 8, 2016; Indiana.

  • $533 million — Mar. 30, 2018; New Jersey.

  • $522 million — June 7, 2019; California.

  • $516 million — May 21, 2021; Pennsylvania.

Top 10 U.S. lottery jackpots

Here are the nation's all-time top 10 Powerball and Mega Millions jackpots, according to powerball.com:

  • $1.586 billion, Powerball — Jan. 13, 2016; California, Florida, Tennessee.

  • $1.537 billion, Mega Millions — Oct. 23, 2018; South Carolina.

  • $1.337 billion, Mega Millions — July 29, 2022; Illinois.

  • $1.05 billion, Mega Millions — Jan. 22, 2021; Michigan

  • $768.4 million, Powerball — Mar. 27, 2019; Wisconsin.

  • $758.7 million, Powerball — Aug. 23, 2017; Massachusetts.

  • $731.1 million, Powerball — Jan. 20, 2021; Maryland.

  • $699.8 million, Powerball — Oct. 4, 2021; California.

  • $687.8 million, Powerball — Oct. 27, 2018; Iowa, New York.

  • $656 million, Mega Millions — Mar. 30, 2012; Kansas, Illinois, Maryland.

Contributing: Jennfier Sangalang, USA TODAY Network-Florida

Chris Sims is a digital producer at Midwest DOT. Follow him on Twitter: @ChrisFSims.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Mega Millions winning lottery tickets for $494M jackpot sold in CA, FL