A resident of Jefferson County claimed his $1 million Mega Millions® prize at the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery Claim Center in Little Rock late yesterday afternoon.

The winning ticket was sold at Super 1 Foods, 2800 Hazel in Pine Bluff for last Friday’s drawing. The winning numbers were 20, 36, 61, 62 and 69. The player matched the five white balls, but not the Megaball® number 20. 

The winner said he plays draw games regularly and was checking several tickets at a gas station Wednesday evening when the ticket reader said, “Claim at Lottery.”

“I figured I had won $500,” he said. “So when I got home, I got on the computer, went to the lottery’s website and couldn’t believe it when it showed that I had all five white calls. Man, I was happy even though I didn’t add the Megaplier®, which I do add sometimes.”

He explained the reason he didn’t purchase the Megaplier was because he had a $20 bill so he bought two tickets containing five games per ticket to make it come out even.

“Three million would have been great, but I’m grateful for what I won,” he added. “My Megaball was number 11. It’s crazy to think that I was nine numbers away from winning the $400 million jackpot!”

The winner quit his job yesterday morning. He plans to replace his 15-year-old Ford Focus with a new car and maybe a new truck, too. He is thinking about moving to another town in Central Arkansas since his family members have all moved from Pine Bluff.

Retailers receive a 1 percent commission from the sale of winning lottery products, which means the Super 1 Foods in Pine Bluff will receive $10,000 in commission.

The Mega Millions jackpot for tonight’s drawing has climbed to $480 million.

About the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery

More than 92 cents of every dollar of ASL revenue goes to prizes, scholarships, retailer commissions and other expenses in Arkansas. Since 2009, the lottery has raised more than $1.1 billion in proceeds for scholarships. More than 675,000 college scholarships have been awarded to Arkansans. The lottery has awarded more than $4 billion in prizes to players, about $352 million in retailer commissions and provided more than $155 million in state and federal tax revenue.

Follow the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Visit MyArkansasLottery.com for more information on scholarships, winners, games, odds, promotions – and to join The Club for free. To hear winning numbers, call the Winning Numbers Hotline at 501-682-IWON (4966). To get help with problem gambling, contact the National Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700.