A Wisconsin resident is retiring after winning the $ 120 million Mega Millions jackpot in September.
Adrian Tongson from Racine’s said he realized he had won the jackpot on September 15th, just weeks after the draw. Tongson, who played the lottery regularly for many years, came to the Wisconsin lottery on November 10 to collect his millions.
No matter how much you spend, it only takes one ticket to win, ”Tongson said in a press release. “This is what brought me victory.”
Tongson successfully picked the winning numbers 25, 28, 38, 59 and 62, and the Mega Ball number 22. The odds of luck are one in 302,575,350.
Tongson bought a $ 2 ticket at Kwik Trip at 4924 Spring Street in Mount Pleasant. For the sale of a lucky ticket, Kwik Trip receives a check for $ 100,000 from Mega Millions.
Tongson chose the cash option for about $ 95.4 million. After paying federal and state taxes, he took home about $ 65.2 million. Wisconsin collects about $ 7.3 million in taxes.
“I absolutely love Adrian,” said Wisconsin Lottery director Cindy Polzin. “As a dedicated lottery player, he is definitely the perfect first Mega Millions jackpot winner for our state. Congratulations to our retail partner Kwik Trip on the sale of your lucky ticket. ”
COVID-19 has led to a drop in lottery sales as many retail lotteries across the country have been forced to close by government orders.
As retailers were printing fewer tickets, Mega Millions and Powerball changed their gameplay. Interstate lotteries have dropped the guaranteed minimum jackpot and the guaranteed jackpot increase between draws.
There are lotteries in 45 states, but only 10 sell lottery tickets online – these are Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Virginia. And only eight of those states sell Mega Millions tickets online.

Before the pandemic, interstate lotteries were amid a jackpot boom. This is largely due to the fact that in recent years Mega Millions and Powerball have made winning their jackpots even more unlikely.
Top 5 US Lottery Jackpots
$ 1.58 billion – Powerball – 2016
$ 1.53 Billion – Mega Millions – 2018
$ 768.4 million – Powerball – 2019
$ 758.7 million – Powerball – 2017
$ 687.8m – Powerball – 2018
Wisconsin requires that the identities of all lottery winners be made public. This is not the case in many other states.
Manuel Franco, who won the $ 768.4 million Powerball jackpot in 2019, said he would remain anonymous if allowed. “We would definitely say that the prize is anonymous,” Franco’s lawyer Andrew Stoltmann said last year.
The Wisconsin Open Records Act requires mandatory public disclosure of lucky residents of Badger. However, each winner decides for himself whether he wants to speak to the media.
The South Carolina woman was granted anonymity when she won the second largest prize in US lottery history in 2018. “I guarantee that her life is much easier than in states where you cannot remain anonymous,” Stoltmann said.