Store near UC sold Mega Millions $265M winner

Thursday, April 20, 2006 posted 11:49 AM EDT

CINCINNATI | Whoever has the winning Mega Millions ticket worth $265 million has six months to claim the prize, and lots of things to do in the meantime.

"They may want to get financial help and legal assistance before cashing the ticket," Kathlene Applegate, the Ohio Lottery's representative in Cincinnati, said Wednesday. "The important thing is to sign the back of the ticket and keep it in a secure place."

Nobody came forward immediately with Tuesday night's winning ticket.

"I hope it's somebody who really needs it, a factory worker who's laid off or a student," said Cheryl Hayden, a home health aide who was shopping for a client Wednesday at the Kroger grocery store where the winning ticket was sold.

The location of the store, just a block from the University of Cincinnati campus, fueled speculation about the winner.

"You could have a group of students, you could have a group of teachers, you could have a group of workers from the university, so we'll just have to see what happens," lottery spokeswoman Mardele Cohen said.

The winning ticket is worth $103 million, after taxes, if the cash option is chosen. Or, the winner could choose to receive about $7 million a year, after taxes, for 26 years.

The winning numbers Tuesday were 13, 14, 25, 34 and 50. The Mega Ball was 6. There also were 21 tickets that matched all five numbers but not the Mega Ball, worth $250,000 each.

Although Mega Millions is played in 12 states, the past two tickets for monster jackpots have been sold in Ohio. A $270 million ticket was sold in February in Lyons, a small farming community near the Michigan border.

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