Bristow retiree buys winning lottery ticket at Gainesville 7-Eleven

It was the day after the July 22 Mega Millions drawing, and Kevin Young was online checking the winning numbers. If the Bristow man had looked carefully, he would have seen he’d matched all six numbers, but that didn’t immediately happen.

“I went right past it,” he said. “I saw it and didn’t recognize it. I thought, ‘Didn’t win again.’”

Fortunately, he went back and rechecked. That’s when the retired engineer realized all six of the numbers on his ticket matched.

“Things changed right then!” he laughed.

This ticket was one of two nationwide to match all six numbers in that drawing, so those two tickets split the $15 million jackpot. The other ticket was bought in Georgia. The winning numbers were 8-24-25-26-30, and the Mega Ball number was 7.

Mr. Young bought the ticket at the 7-Eleven at 7489 Limestone Drive in Gainesville. On October 24, he returned to the store to receive his check from the Virginia Lottery. He had the choice of taking the full $7.5 million over 30 years or a one-time cash option of $5,140,507 before taxes. He chose the cash option. 7-Eleven received a $50,000 bonus from the Lottery for selling the winning ticket. This is Virginia’s ninth Mega Millions jackpot win.

Mr. Young waited three months after the drawing to claim his prize. He said he used the time to meet with financial experts and make plans for his winnings.

“It’s kind of surreal,” he said.

Mega Millions drawings are held Tuesday and Friday nights at 11:00. Drawings are broadcast on TV stations across Virginia and streamed live at http://www.valottery.com The o.dds of matching all six numbers to win the jackpot are 1 in 258.9 million