POLK COUNTY, Fla. – A Polk County man just walked away with a life-changing windfall after hitting the $2 million top prize in a recent Florida Lottery drawing. Benjamin Hall, a resident of Winter Haven, officially claimed the jackpot this week from the January 16 Jackpot Triple Play drawing, according to state lottery officials in Tallahassee.
Hall didn’t wait long to collect his prize, arriving at the lottery headquarters on January 20. When faced with the choice of how to receive his millions, he opted for the immediate financial boost of a one-time, lump-sum payment. After taxes and fees, that total came out to a cool $1,212,677.60.
The winning ticket was sold at Vaishali, a local shop located at 4646 N. Combee Road in Lakeland. While Hall is the big winner, the retailer also shares in the excitement of selling a ticket that beat the odds.
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For those unfamiliar with how the game works, Jackpot Triple Play is a bit unique. For a $1 entry, players actually get three sets of numbers for each play.
You can pick your first six numbers, while the other two sets are automatically generated as “Quick Picks.” The jackpots start at $250,000 and can climb all the way to $2 million before the prize money begins “rolling down” to boost the payouts for lower-tier winners.
Since the game launched back in 2019, it has been a significant driver for both players and the state. It has already created 87 jackpot winners and handed out over $183.3 million in total prizes. More importantly for Florida residents, the game has funneled more than $137.4 million into the state’s Educational Enhancement Trust Fund.
With Hall’s big win now in the books, the jackpot has reset. The next drawing is scheduled for Friday, May 1, at 11:15 p.m. ET, with an estimated $1.3 million up for grabs.
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