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	MONMOUTH COUNTY RESIDENT CLAIMS MEGA MILLIONS PRIZE The New Jersey Lottery today announced that Giuseppe "Joe" Garofalo of Tinton Falls came forth as the New Jersey winner of the $198 million jackpot from the MEGA MILLIONS drawing held on May 17. The lucky winner arrived this morning at Lottery Headquarters, and joins a winner in Virginia in sharing this jackpot. Mr. Garofalo chose the cash option, which means he will receive $73,279,052 before 25% federal withholding and 3% state income tax. He purchased $10.00 worth of tickets for the May 17 drawing at Kwik Farms, 590 Shrewsbury Ave., Tinton Falls, Monmouth County. One of those quick pick selections provided the winning numbers for this drawing. Those numbers were: 11, 15, 35, 43 and 49. The Gold Mega Ball was 41, and the Megaplier Multiplier was 04. Mr. Garofalo said he has always thought he would win the lottery someday. Even so, winning this jackpot was a wonderful surprise. He checked his tickets at the retail store and, as soon as he realized his good fortune, he couldn't wait to tell his wife he had the jackpot-winning ticket. He decided once he could share the good news with her, he would consider what to do about going to work that day. Without a doubt, this Mega Millions win definitely helps to made 2013 a VERY good year for the Garofalo family! Congratulations to the winner of this incredible jackpot," said Carole Hedinger, executive director of the New Jersey Lottery. "Joe did everything right that you could ask of a winner of a jackpot of this size â€“ he signed the back of his ticket, put it in a safe place, and then took the time to think about what he wants to do with the money in the future, and the steps he needs to take to get there. We love to see our winners do all of that before they come forward."

	New Jersey Lottery Mega Millions Players Claim Jackpot Winning Ticket from the May 31st Drawing The anxiously awaited New Jersey Lottery winners from the May 31 Mega Millions drawing have come forward to validate their ticket and claim their prize at Lottery Headquarters. Darryl and Judith Smith from Mays Landing are the official winners of the $30 million jackpot prize. The camera shy couple sat across from their attorneys and completed the claims process with Lottery officials. Upon completion, Judith Smith smiled and said, "We are thankful for the blessing and the opportunities that it opens up for us. We would greatly appreciate that our privacy be respected." Carole Hedinger, Lottery Executive Director said, "We are thrilled to meet the latest New Jersey Lottery jackpot winners! The sale of this winning ticket marks the fourth time in 2013 that New Jersey has produced a major jackpot winner."

	Warsaw Man Claims $250,000 Mega Millions Prize When Donald and Susan Baresel relocated from Kansas City to Warsaw, they admit they were "starting over." Donald had grown weary of his job in the city, and when property became available after a death in the family, the Baresels decided to give Warsaw a chance. Things were slowly improving for them â€“ Donald recently got hired by Warsaw Parks and Recreation â€“ and then things got really good. Donald hit $250,000 playing the Missouri Lottery. "And then I saw on the screen, '$250,000,'" recalled Baresel, about the minute he found out. "I looked at her, she looked at me, and I said, 'Does that really say what I think it says?' Everybody at the store was slapping my hand and congratulating me." Baresel had purchased a Quick Pick ticket for the July 5 Mega Millions drawing at Newman's Country Mart, 1000 E. Main St., in Warsaw. He didn't realize he was the winner until more than a week later, when he checked his tickets on another stop. Baresel said he had checked the numbers against the Mega Ball, but he didn't realize he had matched all five white-ball numbers. The winning Mega Millions numbers for July 5 were: 2, 23, 41, 47 and 54. Baresel said he and Susan sometimes do lottery pools with each other and family numbers. They'll each chip in $20 for Scratchers or Draw Games tickets and play on a Friday, leaving the winners to cash in the following week for another try. "We've been saying that we're overdue," he declared. "We've been playing about three years." The windfall came at a good time. Baresel thinks an extra vehicle and a new boat may come out of it. "Life's finally turning around," he said with a smile. He said they'll continue to play their lottery "game" and offered this advice for other players. "Be patient and have fun," said Baresel. "Don't spend more than you can afford." Newman's Country Store got a $1,000 bonus for selling the winning ticket.

	Hannibal Woman Wins $250,000 Mega Millions Prize A Hannibal woman won the $250,000 Missouri Lottery prize for matching five white-ball numbers in the April 19 Mega Millions drawing. Cassie Roeder, 31, bought the winning Quick Pick ticket at Pick-A-Dilly, 3906 McMasters Ave., in Hannibal. She discovered the ticket was a winner while on a shopping trip with her dad. "We stopped down at the gas station to get a print out of the winning numbers. We were going to Walmart to get groceries," she explained. "I was looking at it, and it was like, 'Well, got that number.' Got to looking and had all of those numbers. I freaked out!" Roeder arranged for her dad to take her to Jefferson City to claim her prize. She intends to help her family and solve her transportation problems with the prize money. She declared her plans were to "get a new car and pay bills," but to also to win the Lottery again. "I bought another ticket for tonight, already," she announced.

	Family Wins $1 Million Playing Mega Millions with Megaplier Nebraska's newest Lottery millionaires have come forward to claim their prize. Loran and Peggy Kramer of Kimball and Kevin Kramer of West Valley, Utah, will split a $1 million Mega Millions with Megaplier prize. The Kramer family has been playing Nebraska Lottery games together for over five years, pooling their money to purchase tickets every week. For the Tuesday, June 18 drawing, Loran Kramer purchased a two-play quick pick Mega Millions with Megaplier ticket at Vince's Corner, 100 East 3rd Street in Kimball. One play on the ticket matched all five of the winning white ball numbers (6, 17, 34, 40, 48) for a $250,000 prize. Because he added the $1 Megaplier option to his purchase, the $250,000 prize was multiplied by the guaranteed 4X Megaplier number for a total of $1 million. This is the fourth $1 million Mega Millions prize won in Nebraska since the Nebraska Lottery began offering the game in March 2010. Loran and his wife Peggy will split the million-dollar prize with their son Kevin. Kevin and Peggy arrived at Nebraska Lottery headquarters on June 20 to claim the prize. "I was checking nelottery.com, and I saw that Vince's Corner sold a winning ticket," said Peggy Kramer. "Just then, my husband starting yelling 'We won! We won!' in the next room. That's when I knew we had that ticket." When asked about plans for the prize money, Kevin Kramer told Nebraska Lottery officials that he planned to save his share for his son's education and for retirement savings. Peggy Kramer stated that that some of the money would be used for home repairs and the rest saved for the future.

	Omaha Woman Wins $250,000 Mega Millions Prize There were more than 10,000 Nebraska Lottery winners in the Tuesday, May 7, drawings. Among these winners was Mejia-Ramirez, who purchased a two-play Mega Millions ticket at Casey's General Store, 1202 South 13th Street in Omaha. One play on the ticket matched all five of the winning white ball numbers (1, 6, 13, 20, 51) from the May 7 drawing for the $250,000 prize. While claiming her prize on May 9, Mejia-Ramirez told Nebraska Lottery officials that she learned she had won after returning to the store to check her tickets. "The clerk said, 'You won big â€“ it's a lot of money,'" said Mejia-Ramirez. "I couldn't believe it." She plans to pay bills using her winnings.

	Best shot: Birthdays win Smyrna woman $250K prize Tequila Hayes is in good spirits, especially since winning a quarter-million dollar prize from the Georgia Lottery. Hayes of Smyrna matched the first five winning numbers from Tuesday's Mega Millions drawing to claim a $250,000 prize. Hayes, 36, used her grandparents' birthdays for her lucky combination. She claimed her prize Wednesday morning at the Georgia Lottery District Office in Duluth. "I got an email, and I recognized the numbers," Hayes said. "I checked and was extremely excited." The mother of five woke her husband, Eric, and called her sister to share the good news. "We've always joked that we'd win," the lucky winner shared. Feeling "great" over her windfall, Hayes anticipates paying off bills and taking a vacation. RaceTrac #0633, 2550 Spring Road in Smyrna, sold the winning numbers.

	$250,000 MEGA MILLIONS TICKET FROM AUBURN CLAIMED Trevor Brown of Portland, TN is employed with a power company in Kentucky and while working in Auburn, stopped off at Minit Mart #84 to buy his Mega Millions tickets for the May 3rd drawing. He purchased five $1 quick pick tickets. "I'll usually pick up a ticket when the jackpot gets over $100 million," Trevor told lottery officials. It was a week later while at work that someone from Auburn contacted Trevor's boss. They told him that there was a rumor going around town that someone with the power company had won. The retailer had played back surveillance video from the time the ticket had been purchased and noticed the person was wearing a uniform shirt from the power company. His boss yelled for Trevor to come over and told him he'd better check his tickets. After pulling up the winning numbers on his phone, he did come across one where he'd matched all five numbers but not the Mega Ball number. He asked his boss to read the winning numbers off just so that he could check it again. "I didn't have a clue," Trevor said. "I didn't even know how much I'd won." The Portland, TN resident matched all five white numbers but not the Mega Ball number in the May 3, 2013 drawing. After taxes, the 26-year old walked out of lottery headquarters with a check for $172,500. He said for now he'll put the money in savings but that it could assist him and his wife with adopting a baby.

	St. Louis Man Wins $1 Million With MegaplierA St. Louis man added the Megaplier option to his Missouri Lottery Mega Millions ticket and turned a $250,000 prize into $1 million. Daniel Flanagan, 61, bought the winning ticket for the April 12 Mega Millions drawing at Circle K, 9931 Watson Road, in St. Louis. He picked his own numbers and matched all five white-ball numbers, which were: 1, 10, 13, 19 and 21. Because Flanagan added the Megaplier option to his ticket at the time of purchase, the prize was increased to $1 million. The second prize in the game is paid in a lump sum, so he received a check for $710,000 after tax withholding. Circle K received a $1,000 bonus for selling the winning ticket.

	Birthdays, anniversaries seal $250K for Cumming woman A Cumming woman has grabbed a quarter-of-a-million dollars from playing Mega Millions. Geraldine Thornton, 66, matched the first five winning numbers from the April 2 drawing to win her monumental $250,000 prize. With her windfall, Thornton anticipates making transformations at home. "I'm going to have a new bathroom put in," she shared. "The rest we'll just bank, I guess." A set of family birthdays and anniversaries is what helped Thornton clinch the prize. Publix Super Market #0519, 500 Atlanta Road in Cumming, sold the lucky ticket. Retired from working in retail, Thornton "choked up" upon seeing the results on the Georgia Lottery's website. She went back to the store to double check. "I couldn't believe it," the lucky winner said. "I was shocked."