PORTSMOUTH, VA — Melena Hill, a resident of Portsmouth, experienced the shock of a lifetime when she found a Mega Millions ticket worth $3 million in her nightstand drawer, over a month after the drawing date. The ticket for the January 9 draw was selected using Easy Pick, where the computer chooses the numbers.
Hill matched the first five numbers but missed the Mega Ball, which would typically result in a $1 million prize. However, her decision to add the Megaplier for an extra dollar increased her winnings to $3 million. The realization of her win prompted a mixture of excitement and disbelief.
“I screamed a little bit!” Hill said, describing her reaction to the discovery. The winning ticket was purchased at Murphy USA on College Drive in Suffolk.
The winning numbers for that draw were 12, 15, 32, 33, 53, with the Mega Ball number being 24. Mega Millions draws occur twice weekly, with odds of matching the first five numbers at 1 in 12,607,306. The jackpot odds are significantly steeper, at 1 in 302,575,350.