New Orleans Man Wins $2 Million Mega Millions Prize

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BATON ROUGE-- One lucky Louisiana Lottery player matched five of the six Mega Millions numbers in the May 21 drawing; he doubled his winnings to $2 million when the Megaplier feature was added to his ticket and the 2x multiplier was selected during the drawing. Ernest Crayton Jr. of New Orleans claimed his prize at Lottery headquarters on Wednesday, May 22.  

He purchased his ticket from Chef Chevron on Chef Menteur Highway in New Orleans and took home $1,435,000 after state and federal tax withholdings. 

“When I found out we had sold the winning ticket, I told all of my regulars to check their tickets to see if they were the big winner,” said Chef Chevron Store Manager Jonathan Nguyen.  

Nguyen said he and the entire Chef Chevron team are happy for Crayton on his big win. They hope this sale will result in more customers visiting and purchasing Lottery tickets at their location. 

Chef Chevron received a selling bonus of $20,000 or 1% of the prize for selling Crayton the winning match-5 Mega Millions ticket.  

Nguyen said many people believe it isn’t possible to win big on the national games, but this win proves it is! Since joining the Mega Millions multistate game in 2012, there have been 20 Mega Millions prizes worth $1 million or more sold in Louisiana. 

Lottery ticket purchasers must be at least 21 years of age. Draw-style game tickets must be claimed within 180 days of the drawing. Anyone who may have a gambling problem or friends and family of anyone with a gambling problem should call toll free 1-877-770-7867 for help.    
 
For security purposes, the Lottery strongly encourages players to sign the back of their tickets immediately after purchasing. More information about Mega Millions and other jackpot winners can be found on the Lottery’s website, www.louisianalottery.com/mega-millions.