RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) – Woodrow Green said he does not usually play Mega Millions. But when his girlfriend told him he should, he went ahead and bought a ticket for the February 21 drawing. Taking her advice turned out to be a million-dollar decision.
A week after the drawing, the Richmond man took his ticket to the Virginia Lottery’s Prize Zone because he thought it might have won a nice prize – maybe even $1,000.
But he was wrong. The ticket wasn’t a $1,000 winner. He had matched the first five numbers to win $1 million.
“We had no idea it would be this kind of money,” Green said. “I never thought this would happen. I had no idea!”
The winning ticket was bought at Beulah BP Mart in Chesterfield County.
He received his prize on March 4, from Virginia Lottery Executive Director Paula Otto. The store received a $10,000 bonus from the lottery for selling the winning ticket.
The winning numbers were 23-29-32-45-46 and the Mega Ball number was 15. He used Easy Pick, allowing the computer to select the numbers on his ticket at random. Had he matched that final number, he would have won a Mega Millions jackpot estimated at $172 million.
Mr. Green, who works as an auto detailer, said he has no immediate plans for his winnings.
“It feels great,” he said. “I’m still trying to comprehend what just happened.”
According to the Virginia Lottery, lottery sales generated more than $486.5 million for Virginia’s public schools in 2013.
