News Releases

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04/02

NR 04-30-02 ... Two players with tickets from Navarre and Tallahassee share $216,040 Fantasy 5 jackpot on Apr 29 !!! Each winner receives $108,020. The winning ticket from Navarre is the first ever from Santa Rosa County, which thus becomes the 50th Florida county [out of 67] to report a Fantasy 5 jackpot winner.

NR 04-26-02 ... One player with Fort Myers ticket wins $224,563 Fantasy 5 jackpot on Apr 25 !!! This is the highest Fantasy 5 payout registered in Lee County.

NR 04-24-02 ... One player with Port Orange ticket wins $314,760 Mega Money jackpot on Apr 23 !!! This is the first ever Mega Money winning ticket from Port Orange and the highest Mega Money payout in Volusia County.

NR 04-24-02 ... One player with Bayonet Point ticket wins $222,049 Fantasy 5 jackpot on Apr 23 !!! This is the highest Fantasy 5 payout registered in Pasco County.

Polk County Registers First Lotto Jackpot In 12 Months

NR 04-23-02 ... The Apr 20 jackpot of $7 million is the first to be won by a ticket purchased in Polk County [→ Lakeland] in 12 months. The last jackpot claimed by a Polk ticket had been a $40 million top prize on 03-31-01, exactly 385 days and 110 Lotto draws ago. That ticket was purchased in Winter Haven.

This was a rather long "drought spell" for Polk County, as the district registers a Lotto winner every 39 draws on average - although it had already experienced extended periods without any winners on two prior occasions [see below]. Polk County's share of Lotto jackpot winners [22 of 719 = 3.06%] is now exactly commensurate with its proportion of overall Florida State residents [490,000 of 16 million = 3.06%].

Note that Polk County did not register any Lotto jackpot winners during two prior extended periods as well:
    [A] Between 11-07-92 and 02-25-95, a time span covering 840 days and 120 Lotto draws.
    [B] Between 11-03-99 and 03-31-01, a time span covering 514 days and 147 Lotto draws.

Lotto Jackpot Winning Tickets Purchased In Polk County  [1988 - 2002]

A total of 22 Lotto jackpot winning tickets have now been purchased in 7 different cities of Polk County. The district currently ranks tenth among all Florida counties in total Lotto jackpot winners - behind Miami-Dade [126], Broward [59], Palm Beach [58], Hillsborough [54], Pinellas [50], Volusia [29], Escambia [28], Duval [27] and Brevard [23] - and on par with Lee County [22].

Lotto Jackpots By City In Polk County

NR 04-22-02 ... Earth Day is celebrated each year on April 22, a date which commemorates the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970. Founded by former U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson [Wisconsin], the first Earth Day led to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts. Earth Day 2002 will be observed in 184 countries around the world through a host of activities and events.

NR 04-21-02 ... One player with Miami ticket wins $252,511 Fantasy 5 jackpot on Apr 20 !!! This is the 2^nd highest Fantasy 5 payout registered in Miami-Dade County and the 136^th winning ticket from that district.

Hallandale Man Claims $23 Million Lotto Jackpot

NR 04-19-02 ... On Thursday, Apr 18, a man from Hallandale claimed the $23 million Lotto jackpot from the Feb 27 drawing at Lottery Headquarters in Tallahassee. Shamshuddeen Jamaludin (39) chose to collect his award in form of a lump-sum payment of $12,288,962 before 27% in federal withholding taxes, instead of receiving 30 annual installments of approximately $766,666 each.

"I went to a store to have a clerk check my tickets a few days after the drawing because someone told me there was a Lotto winner from Hallandale" said Shamshuddeen, who is originally from South America but has lived in Florida for several years. "When the Lottery machine showed I had all the numbers, the clerk started screaming and jumping! I just remained calm, got my ticket back and went outside to my van where I told my wife we had won the Lotto. We then all went out to dinner to celebrate."

Upon learning that he was a winner, Shamshuddeen initially kept his ticket with him and later moved it to a bank safe deposit box, until driving to Tallahassee.

Shamshuddeen, who had gathered financial advice during 7 weeks before claiming his prize, indicated that he used the birthdays and ages of family members to pick his winning numbers [1 - 10 - 17 - 18 - 26 – 39]. He also mentioned that he plays Lotto every Wednesday and Saturday, and that he bought 8 tickets for the Feb 27 drawing.

"I'm not going to retire from my job yet," commented the winner, who works as a landscaper. "I have to make plans for my winnings. I have no plans at this time."

Shamshuddeen bought his lucky ticket at the Mobil gas station, located at 26 South Federal Highway in Hallandale. The store has received a $10,000 retailer bonus for selling the jackpot winning ticket.

Shamshuddeen is the 59^th Florida Lotto winner with a ticket purchased in Broward County, the 2^nd winner with a ticket from the city of Hallandale, and the 712^th overall winner since the game began in 1988.

NR 04-19-02 ... In 5,100 draws, Cash 3 has produced the following distribution of combinations. The 200-range has recorded the largest number of combinations [550], while the 800-range has recorded the smallest [456]. And combinations ranging from 000 - 499 have produced 2,600 draws [50.98%], while combinations ranging from 500 - 999 have produced 2,500 draws [49.02%].

NR 04-18-02 ... Lotto's payout of $11,205.50 for 24 winners at the 5/6 prize level is the 7^th highest in history. This is the first time since 10 Oct 2001 that a 5/6 payout surpasses the $10,000 mark. On that day, 28 players won $10,330 each for getting five of six numbers correct. Ten Lotto 5/6 payouts have now been above $10,000 and another six above $9,000. The highest Lotto 5/6 payout ever was registered on 17 Sep 1988, when 125 winners claimed $12,582 each. Seven of the top ten Lotto 5/6 payouts were registered between 1988 and 1989.

NR 04-17-02 ... One player with Greenacres City ticket wins $485,761 Mega Money jackpot on Apr 16 !!! This is the first ever Mega $ winning ticket from Greenacres City and the highest Mega $ payout in Palm Beach County.

Lee County Registers First Lotto Jackpot In 9½ Months

NR 04-17-02 ... The Apr 13 jackpot of $12 million is the first to be won by a ticket purchased in Lee County [→ Fort Myers Beach] in 9½ months. The last jackpot claimed by a Lee ticket had been a $7 million top prize on 06-30-01, exactly 287 days and 82 Lotto draws ago. That ticket was purchased in Cape Coral.

This was a rather long "drought spell" for Lee County, as the district registers a Lotto winner every 39 draws on average. Nonetheless, Lee County's share of Lotto jackpot winners [22 of 718 = 3.06%] is still slightly above its proportion of overall Florida State residents [450,000 of 16 million = 2.81%].

Note that Lee County did not register a single Lotto jackpot winner between 09-12-92 and 03-30-96, a time span covering 3½ years and 185 Lotto draws.
 

Lotto Jackpot Winning Tickets Purchased In Lee County  [1988 - 2002]

A total of 22 Lotto jackpot winning tickets have now been purchased in 7 different cities of Lee County. The district currently ranks tenth among all Florida counties in total Lotto jackpot winners - behind Miami-Dade [126], Broward [59], Palm Beach [58], Hillsborough [54], Pinellas [50], Volusia [29], Escambia [28], Duval [27] and Brevard [23].

Lotto Jackpots By City In Lee County

NR 04-14-02 ... One player with Fort Myers Beach ticket wins $12 million Lotto jackpot on Apr 13 !!! This is the first ever Lotto winning ticket from Fort Myers Beach, which thus becomes the 221st Florida city to report a Lotto jackpot winner.

NR 04-10-02 ... One player with Sarasota ticket wins $221,708 Fantasy 5 jackpot on Apr 9 !!! This is the highest Fantasy 5 payout registered in Sarasota County.

NR 04-06-02 ... One player with Coral Springs ticket wins $256,926 Fantasy 5 jackpot on Apr 5 !!! This is the 7^th highest individual payout in New Fantasy 5 history and the 2^nd highest in Broward County.

NR 04-05-02 ... Daylight Saving Time begins at 2:00 am on Sunday, April 7, when the clocks are turned forward one hour to 3:00 am. DST ends at 2:00 am on Sunday, October 27, 2002.

Hillsborough County Registers First Lotto Jackpot In 10½ Months

NR 04-05-02 ... The Apr 3 jackpot of $11 million is the first to be won by a ticket purchased in Hillsborough County in 10½ months. The last jackpot claimed by a Hillsborough ticket had been a $7 million top prize on 05-19-01, exactly 319 days and 91 Lotto draws ago. That ticket was [also] purchased in Tampa.

This was an unusually long "drought spell" for Hillsborough County, as the district registers a Lotto winner every 16 draws on average. Nonetheless, Hillsborough County's share of Lotto jackpot winners [54 of 717 = 7.53%] is still above its proportion of overall Florida State residents [1 million of 16 million = 6.25%].
 

Lotto Jackpot Winning Tickets Purchased In Hillsborough County  [1988 - 2002]

A total of 54 Lotto jackpot winning tickets have now been purchased in 9 different cities of Hillsborough County. The district continues to rank fourth among all Florida counties in total Lotto jackpot winners - behind Miami-Dade [126], Broward [59] and Palm Beach [58], and ahead of Pinellas [50].
 

Lotto Jackpots By City In Hillsborough County

Melbourne Man Claims $12.5 Million Lotto Jackpot

NR 04-05-02 ... On Tuesday, Apr 2, a construction worker from Melbourne claimed his ½ share of the $25 million Lotto jackpot from the Mar 16 drawing at Lottery Headquarters in Tallahassee. Chris Koubek (39) opted to collect his award in form of a one-time cash payment of $6,527,851 before 27% in federal withholding taxes, instead of receiving 30 annual installments of approximately $416,666 each. The other winning ticket, which was sold in Ponce Inlet, was redeemed on Mar 25 by Edward Kryzanekas (68) from Palm Coast.

"I used to be a construction worker — now I'm a retired construction worker," said Chris, who waited two weeks for his attorney to return from vacation before claiming his prize. "I'm still going to work ... work on my fishing and work on my golf," he added.

"This is wonderful!" expressed Carmen, his wife of almost 17 years and a long-time electronics worker. "I can stay home with the kids!" She and two of Chris' brothers accompanied the jovial winner to Tallahassee.

Chris, who always plays five Lotto combinations on Saturdays, indicated that the winning ticket was among five additional tickets he played on Mar 16 because of the large size of the jackpot [$25 million]. "I'm not sure where the numbers came from," he revealed. "One was my age at the time I prepared the play card. The others I just saw somewhere — just out of the air." The winning numbers were [29 - 33 - 37 - 40 - 46 – 52].

Chris discovered that he was a winner when he returned from a fishing trip on the Sunday morning after the Saturday evening drawing. "It's a wonder the ticket didn't get soaked," he remarked. "I was surf fishing and I got wet right up to my wallet, where I had my ticket."

Chris mentioned that he decided to check the ticket before starting to re-carpet a room in his house on that day. "I saw that I had the numbers and I decided I'm not laying carpet today," he said. He then told his wife the good news. "I didn't believe him at first," Carmen stated. "Then I saw he was shaking, so I thought it had to be true. My first thought was, 'I can stay home with the kids.'"

The couple disclosed that their long-term plans are to invest wisely, live on the waterfront and provide funds for their children's college education.

Chris bought his lucky ticket at the Cumberland Food store, located at 681 North Wickham Road in Melbourne. The outlet will receive half of a $10,000 retailer bonus [= $5,000] for selling one of the two Lotto jackpot winning tickets.

Chris is the 23^rd Florida Lotto winner with a ticket purchased in Brevard County, the 4^th winner with a ticket from the city of Melbourne, and the 714^th overall winner since the game began in 1988.

NR 04-02-02 ... One player with Rockledge ticket wins $222,654 Fantasy 5 jackpot on Apr 1 !!! This is the highest Fantasy 5 payout registered in Brevard County.