Just call him “Johnny cash.”
A middle-aged Jersey Shore man named John became one of four megamillionaires last week when he bought a winning ticket in the massive Mega Millions jackpot.
Lucky lottery players also bought winning tickets in Maryland, Texas and Virginia, but nobody has come forward to claim his winnings yet, lottery officials said.
John, a regular customer at Blitz’s Villas Market in Cape May, N.J., called the store yesterday with the big news, said Nick DiRenzo, son of Blitz’s owner.
But DiRenzo said the family still didn’t know the man’s last name.
Sales clerk Patti Jackson was excited to learn that she had sold the life-changing ticket, he said.
“She has lucky fingers, I guess,” DiRenzo said. “I started rubbing her arm, because I guess she has luck.”
The odds were one in 176 million that any ticket would match all five numbers – 8, 18, 22, 40 and 44 – and the Mega Ball 11 drawn Friday night.
According to preliminary calculations, each ticket would be worth about $82 million if the prize were taken in 26 annual payments. If taken in one lump sum, the payout would be $48.6 million.
“You have a better chance of being hit by lightning at the same place and time every day for a week [than winning Mega Millions],” figured Buddy Roogow, the Maryland lottery director.