Just weeks after Hurricane Ian ravaged the southwest Florida city of Fort Myers, someone hit a lottery jackpot at a 7-Eleven convenience store on the city’s Colonial Boulevard.
The individual in Fort Myers was not the only person who purchased a Mega Millions ticket with the winning numbers of 9, 22, 26, 41, 44 and the Mega Ball 19 on Friday. Another winning ticket was purchased in San Jose, California. As of Tuesday morning, neither person had come forward to claim their considerable winnings.
How considerable? The jackpot was $494m, which the winners will now likely split — meaning that each person stands to walk away with $247m. Lottery winners in Florida have 180 days to come forward and claim their prize, but just 60 days to claim the lump sum payout, which, in this case, is worth well more than $100m.
It’s an eye-popping number, especially considering the devastation so many people in Fort Myers experienced recently when the hurricane ripped through the town. According to reporting from The New York Times, nearly 400 buildings on the Fort Myers beach were destroyed. The beach’s main commercial area was destroyed.
Town Councilman Dan Allers said the situation the town is facing in the aftermath of the storm is “total devastation.” He called the situation “catastrophic”. The hurricane as a whole may have caused as much as $67bn in damage, making it one of the five costliest storms in US history. It may end up being the second costliest storm in US history, trailing only Hurricane Katrina.
Against that backdrop of environmental devastation — and questions from some about the wisdom of rebuilding Fort Myers given its location and realities of the climate crisis — the Florida Lottery cast news of the winning lottery ticket as good news.
“This win feels slightly more meaningful,” lottery officials said in a statement reported by NBC News. Lottery officials also said they hoped that the money from the Mega Millions ticket could “have a positive impact” on the area. Children are just now returning to school in some areas affected by the storm.
7-Eleven officials were similarly enthusiastic, particularly given that both of the winning tickets were purchased at locations of their store.
“We’ve always known our customers across the nation are winners! We couldn’t be happier that these extra lucky customers won in 7-Eleven stores in Fort Myers, FL and San Jose, CA,” a company spokesperson said in a statement.
