Lure of the jackpot results in $1 million win for Virginia man

Drawing Date: 8/1/2017

August 30, 2017 - James Deal is not a regular Mega Millions player. However, when he saw that the jackpot had grown to an estimated $303 million for the August 1 drawing, the Harrisonburg, Va., man decided it was time to get in the game.

He came very close to hitting the jackpot. His ticket matched the first five numbers and missed only the Mega Ball number. That’s good enough to win Mega Millions’ second prize of $1 million.

“I kept double-checking and triple-checking the ticket to make sure I wasn’t seeing things,” he said. “I just got lucky, I guess.”

He bought the winning ticket at Martin’s, 2035 East Market Street in Harrisonburg. On August 30 he returned to the store to receive his check from the Virginia Lottery. The store received a $10,000 bonus for selling the winning ticket.

The winning numbers were 20-22-52-57-73, and the Mega Ball number was 7. He used Easy Pick and allowed the computer to randomly select the numbers on the ticket. His ticket was one of just four nationwide to match the first five numbers in that drawing and the only one in Virginia.

Mr. Deal said he has no immediate plans for his winnings except to invest for retirement and take care of his family.