Chesapeake man wins $1 million without leaving his home!

Drawing Date: 5/9/2017

May 16, 2017 - Hayward Phillips didn’t run out to the store to buy a Mega Millions ticket. There was no need: He was already covered. The Chesapeake, Va., man bought his tickets using the Virginia Lottery’s “subscribe online” function to play from his home.

Shortly after the May 9 Mega Millions drawing, he received a phone call from Virginia Lottery Executive Director Paula Otto with the news of a lifetime. He’d matched the first five numbers, missing only the Mega Ball number, to win the game’s $1 million second prize.

As it turns out, Mr. Phillips was at work, operating a piece of heavy equipment as project superintendent for a utility contractor, when he received the call. But he soon needed to take a break to tell his wife the good news! Mr. Phillips bought the subscription for four drawings (two weeks) from his laptop on the Sunday evening before the drawing.

The winning numbers for the May 9 drawing were 6-29-45-69-73, and the Mega Ball number was 11. On May 16, he received the big check from Ms. Otto in a presentation at the Chesapeake Conference Center. He’s the first player to win the $1 million prize using the Virginia Lottery’s new online subscription service.

Subscriptions are offered by the Virginia Lottery for Mega Millions and Powerball to give players the opportunity to buy tickets online. Subscriptions are available to any Virginia resident, 18 or older, who is located within Virginia at the time of purchase. For more information, visit http://www.valottery.com/subscribe. 

“We’ve offered subscriptions online for ten years, but recently revamped the system to make it more convenient for consumers,” said Ms. Otto. “Whether a Virginia Lottery player prefers playing at the traditional retail store or online, we’ve got it covered.”