Bohemia man claims $1,000,000 Mega Millions prize

Drawing Date: 1/5/2016

February 19, 2016 - Jason Klingel, from Bohemia, N.Y., has claimed a $1,000,000 prize from the January 5, 2016 Mega Millions drawing.

Klingel, owner of a carpet cleaning business, plays Mega Millions all the time. “I’ve been playing that game since it started,” he said.

The day before the drawing, Klingel stopped at the Balinder store at 76 West Montauk Highway in Lindenhurst, N.Y., to buy his tickets. A few days after the drawing, a friend of his told him there was a $1,000,000 winning ticket sold at that store.

“My friend asked me if I bought my ticket at Balinder, and I told him I did. That’s when I decided to check my numbers,” Klingel said. “I went online and saw that it was the store I bought my tickets. I had a good feeling about it, and then I saw that I matched five numbers. That’s when I knew I had won a million dollars,” he said.

Klingel will receive his $1,000,000 jackpot prize as one lump sum payment of $661,800 after required withholdings.

As for his plans for the money, Klingel wants to pay off his mortgage and set some money aside for his grandchild. “I’m just ecstatic that I won,” he said.