Sun City West couple claims $5 million prize

Drawing Date: 1/13/2015

January 22, 2015 - After consulting with their attorney and financial advisor, Michael and Nancy Baker, Sun City West, came to the Arizona Lottery today to redeem their $5 million Mega Millions ticket from January 13. Nancy selected the numbers, which are a combination of their birth dates and birth years, and Mike purchased the ticket. He makes sure he always buys the Megaplier, and he always buys his tickets from the same store. The ticket matched five correct numbers for $1 million, but since the Megaplier for January 13 was five, their win automatically increased to $5 million.

Mike checked his numbers via the self-scanner at the store. Later, after he and Nancy finished grocery shopping, he had the clerk scan the ticket. When they got home, they checked the numbers in the paper a few times to be sure they hadn’t misread them. Mike said, “We called our family after we were sure it was real.”

The couple moved to Arizona from Illinois a few years ago after Mike retired from teaching. They love living in Arizona and don’t miss the cold weather.

The couple does not have any definite plans at the moment as they’re waiting to get together with family. Mike said, “This is a life changer.”

They purchased the Mega Millions winning ticket from a Safeway located at 13503 W. Camino Del Sol in Sun City West, Ariz. This is the largest Mega Millions winning ticket ever sold in Arizona.