PREVIOUS COVERAGE | Someone in Manatee may be $61.5 M richer

MANATEE — Someone in Manatee County might be a new multi-millionaire today.

Or maybe it was somebody passing through town on their way to Ona. Or Zolfo Springs. Maybe Avon Park.

Either way, whoever played Powerball on a Quick Pick ticket Wednesday afternoon at Hess Express, 11002 State Road 64 in Lakewood Ranch, hit the jackpot.

For $61.5 million.

Florida Lottery officials say there is only one winner and that person has yet to claim the grand prize.

Maybe they don’t know it yet.

Or maybe they haven’t regained consciousness after fainting.

“It’s not surprising when people take a couple of days to come forward,” said Shelley Safford with the Florida Lottery headquarters in Tallahassee on Thursday. “They may not know they won. It’s also common for people to get their affairs in order — talking to legal counsel or a financial planner — before coming here to redeem the ticket.”

The winning numbers were 14-26-37-41-16 and the Powerball number was 24. Powerball tickets are $1 each and the winner bought $5 worth.

Whoever it is, they can take their jackpot winnings two ways:

n One lump sum of $34.5 million.

n Receive just over $2 million a year for 30 years.

They would also be the sixth million-dollar winner to buy the winning ticket in Manatee County since 1988.

The most recent was Charles E. Hill, who hit a $16 million Florida Lottery ticket in May 2008 at Bud’s Mini Mart, 1000 Carlton Arms Blvd. Hill cashed in for a $9,072,011 lump sum payout — and quit his job.

This Powerball jackpot winner will be Florida’s third since the game started here in January 2009. Florida is one of 42 participating states, along with the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands.

“They have 180 days to claim it,” Safford said. “But if they want the lump sum of cash, they have to come forward in 60 days from the draw date.”

The Hess retailer will receive a $40,000 incentive commission, Safford said.

Vin Mannix, local columnist, can be reached at 745-7055.

This story was originally published October 8, 2010 at 12:00 AM with the headline "PREVIOUS COVERAGE | Someone in Manatee may be $61.5 M richer."