Someone who bought a MegaMillions ticket at a Midtown pizzeria beat the astronomical odds and won a jackpot of $432 million in the latest drawing on Tuesday night.
The New York Lottery announced that the winning ticket was sold at the Pronto Pizza shop located at 62 West 48th St. in the Diamond District. It was the only jackpot-winning ticket sold in the national MegaMillions drawing, which is offered in New York, 44 other states and the District of Columbia.
The winning numbers were 36-41-45-51-56 with the MegaBall of 13. The odds of getting all five numbers and the MegaBall right are 302,575,350 to 1 — by contrast, the odds of being struck by lightning are about 500,000 to 1.
If you happened to buy the winning ticket worth $432 million, you’ll walk away with about $285 million after state and federal taxes are deducted, according to the lottery tax calculator on TaxAct.blog.
But if you missed out on the big jackpot, don’t worry: tonight’s Powerball drawing is worth $490 million. The odds of matching all five numbers and the Powerball are slightly better — 292,201,338 to 1.
Buy tickets with Jackpocket
Still, you’ve got to be in it to win it — and if you can’t get out to a New York Lottery retailer to buy a ticket in person, you can do so using the Jackpocket app on your cellphone.
Jackpocket first launched in January of this year and lets you order tickets for MegaMillions, Powerball and other games offered by the New York Lottery — including the daily Numbers, Win 4, Cash 4 Life and Pick 10 drawings, and the bi-weekly New York Lotto drawings.
Using it is simple, safe and secure. Download the app for free and fund the account using your debit or credit card. You can then choose your own numbers or order Quick Pick tickets. Once the order is received, Jackpocket will buy the tickets you requested a third-party lottery vendor. You’ll see images of the tickets you bought, which are then stored securely.
Jackpocket lets you keep 100% of whatever you win if you’re lucky enough to claim a prize. Winnings of $600 or less go right back into your Jackpocket account, and you can use the proceeds to play more games or send the funds back to your bank account.
If your winnings exceed $600, Jackpocket will securely send your winning ticket back to you so you can claim the prize at the New York Lottery office.
Over 215,000 New Yorkers have won more than $70 million in prizes to date through Jackpocket, the company reported. That includes a Queens couple who won a million dollar, second-place prize in a May Powerball drawing.
