Lottery player turns $5 into life-changing win at Florida Publix. Where was ticket sold?
A Publix shopper’s decision to buy a $5 lottery ticket during a trip to a Florida grocery store ended up winning him a jackpot prize.
The winner, identified as 67-year-old Roger Shackelford, won $1 million in the Millionaire Maker game, the Florida Lottery said March 6.
The Tampa Bay-area man bought his lucky ticket at the Publix Super Market at the Shoppes of Lithia in Valrico, lottery officials said.
He beat the odds of 1-in-3,834,630 to nab one of six prizes of $1 million, although only one top prize remains in the game that launched in May, records show.
Shackelford claimed his windfall at the Florida Lottery’s Tampa office with a one-time payment of $640,000, according to lottery officials.
The Hillsborough County Publix will receive a $2,000 bonus as well.
Valrico is about a 16-mile drive east from downtown Tampa.