The winner of last week's $450 million Mega Millions jackpot is a 20-year-old man from Port Richey, Florida, who spent $10 on five lottery tickets.
Shane Missler turned in the winning ticket Friday afternoon at Florida Lottery headquarters in Tallahassee for the fourth-largest prize in Mega Millions history, the Tampa Bay Times reported. He elected to take the lump sum option of $281,874,999, and has already had his lawyer set up a trust for him to manage.
“If there is one thing I have learned thus far in my short time on this earth it is that those who maintain a positive mindset and stay true to themselves get rewarded. I look forward to the future,” Missler said in a statement released by his lawyer.
Missler said he had a “feeling” that he had won after he bought five quick pick tickets with the winnings from a scratch-off ticket purchased earlier, the Times reported.
“I’m only 20, but I hope to use [the money] to pursue a variety of passions, help my family and do some good for humanity,” Missler said, ABC News reported.
The 7-Eleven that sold the winning ticket will get a $100,000 commission.
The winner of the $560 million Powerball ticket in New Hampshire has not yet come forward. The ticket was confirmed by lottery officials to have been sold in Merrimack, about 5 miles south of Concord. That store, Reeds Ferry Market, will get a $75,000 commission.
Some on Twitter were already asking for Missler’s money, while others just hoped he would use it wisely.