PHOENIX — A married couple in Glendale became multimillionaires overnight after they won the jaw-dropping $410 million Mega Millions jackpot.
Arizona Lottery announced Thursday that the couple, who has chosen to stay anonymous under a state law, bought the single ticket that won the jackpot.
They chose the lump-sum cash option of $319.9 million, less approximately $76.8 million in federal taxes and $15.3 million to the state of Arizona, for an estimated payout of $227.8 million.
The couple, described only as a 70-year-old man and 63-year-old woman, have been playing the lottery regularly for the past 38 years.
They chose their own numbers based on family birthdays.
“My birthday is next month, and my left hand had been itching for two weeks, which meant money was coming my way,” she said.
“I also found a shiny new heads-up penny just before I bought our tickets, so I just knew I’d be lucky.”
The woman said when she checked the numbers and saw they had won, she began yelling, “Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God!”, and ran through the house to tell her husband.
“It’s an amazing feeling, and this is proof that you can’t win if you don’t play,” he said.
“I feel lighter now and it’s incredible to know that there will never be another bill that I can’t pay.”
The husband said they always looked at their lottery play like another bill for their entertainment.
“You can’t take it with you so you might as well have fun.”
The couple plans to pay off their mortgage, set aside enough money to provide for their children and grandchildren, invest and enjoy the rest.
The ticket was sold at Circle K at 20203 N. 67th Avenue in Glendale on May 27.
It matched all six numbers drawn on June 9: The white balls 1, 5, 9, 10 and 23, plus the gold Mega Ball 22.
It was the 11th largest jackpot in Mega Millions history.
The couple also became Arizona's very first Mega Millions jackpot winner and received the largest single payout to any Arizona Lottery player.
It was only the second time in 2020 that the Mega Millions jackpot had been won.
Circle K also got a $50,000 sales incentive from the Arizona Lottery for selling the winning ticket, which they have pledged to donate to United Cerebral Palsy of Central Arizona.
“We are so excited to see this couple claim our first-ever Mega Millions jackpot,” Gregg Edgar, Arizona Lottery's executive director said in a statement.
“The Arizona Lottery is all about doing more good in our state and making dreams come true for our players. I’m sure this amazing prize will go a long way toward helping make this couple’s dreams a reality and inspiring many other Arizonans to dream bigger while doing good for Arizona.”
