Two lottery draws, two huge winners, two mysteries

A pair of huge draws on the weekend resulted in the proverbial “life-changing wins,” as the Powerball and Mega Millions lottery jackpots were each hit by a single player – though neither has stepped forward to claim the prize.

On Friday night, the Mega Millions numbers were drawn on a $54 million jackpot. Numbers 3, 4, 14, 18, 27 and 13 came up to make one lucky citizen of New York City very happy – if he/she is even aware of the win. The jackpot was reset and, with no winner in yesterday’s draw, the September 24 jackpot is estimated to be at $16 million.

Over the weekend, the turgid Powerball jackpot stood at a big $116 million before a customer of Heby’s Shell gas station in Mableton, Georgia, chose the winning numbers 1, 18, 37, 39, 44 and 13 – making the key final numbers in both draws a lucky 13, incidentally – but he/she, too, has yet to come forward and claim the prize as of Wednesday morning.

Heby’s Shell will be receiving a $25,000 bonus for selling the winning ticket and, should the player claim his/her winnings as a cash option, the ticket will be worth a tidy $63 million before taxes. The winner has 180 days to claim the big prize.

The last occasion on which a Georgia player won the Mega Millions jackpot was just over a year ago, with a $12 million payout going to a Sharpsburg man on September 1st of 2009.

A pair of huge draws on the weekend resulted in the proverbial “life-changing wins,” as the Powerball and Mega Millions lottery jackpots were each hit by a single player – though neither has stepped forward to claim the prize.

On Friday night, the Mega Millions numbers were drawn on a $54 million jackpot. Numbers 3, 4, 14, 18, 27 and 13 came up to make one lucky citizen of New York City very happy – if he/she is even aware of the win. The jackpot was reset and, with no winner in yesterday’s draw, the September 24 jackpot is estimated to be at $16 million.

Over the weekend, the turgid Powerball jackpot stood at a big $116 million before a customer of Heby’s Shell gas station in Mableton, Georgia, chose the winning numbers 1, 18, 37, 39, 44 and 13 – making the key final numbers in both draws a lucky 13, incidentally – but he/she, too, has yet to come forward and claim the prize as of Wednesday morning.

Heby’s Shell will be receiving a $25,000 bonus for selling the winning ticket and, should the player claim his/her winnings as a cash option, the ticket will be worth a tidy $63 million before taxes. The winner has 180 days to claim the big prize.

The last occasion on which a Georgia player won the Mega Millions jackpot was just over a year ago, with a $12 million payout going to a Sharpsburg man on September 1st of 2009.