$1 million Mega Millions Christmas gift for Arizona man

Drawing Date: 12/24/2013

January 2, 2014 - The Arizona Lottery announces that a Mesa resident has claimed the $1 million second place Mega Millions prize from the Christmas Eve drawing Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2013. This is the second $1 million Mega Millions second prize winning ticket sold in Arizona since the Mega Millions game was redesigned in October.

Audel Acevedo of Mesa purchased his Mega Millions Quick Pick® tickets at the Fry's Food Store located at 20797 W. John Wayne Parkway in Maricopa for the Dec. 24 drawing. Due to the holiday and the fact that he had a lot of family visitors, he put the tickets away and forgot about them. A few days later, Acevedo remembered the tickets and took them to the store to be checked. When the clerk told him he would have to redeem his ticket at the Lottery, he assumed he had won about $1,000. It wasn't until he redeemed the ticket at the Lottery office that he realized that he was a $1 million winner.

Acevedo, who works in construction, called his wife and children to join him at the Lottery office. The entire family was both in shock and thrilled about the win. He plans to contact his certified public accountant to devise a plan for the winnings. He said he plans to give back to the community, invest in property and try to take his family to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.