2 Mega Millions Winners in Maryland, Florida to Split $414M Jackpot

Winning tickets sold in Charles County, Md. and Merritt Island, Fla.

If you purchased a Mega Millions lottery ticket in Charles County, Md., check your numbers -- you may be getting a share of a $414 million jackpot.

Lottery officials say the lucky winner picked his or her own numbers at Lady's Liquors at 6474 Crain Highway in La Plata. Another winning ticket was sold at a Sunoco convenience store in Merritt Island, Fla. The winners will take home approximately $76.4 million each if they select the cash option.

Both retailers will receive $100,000 commissions.

Jay Jhala, the owner and manager of Lady's Liquors, said in a phone interview that he didn't know when the winning ticket was sold, or to whom. He said he was excited, though, to have sold a ticket to a new millionaire.

"This is a first ever,'' he said. The store has sold winning tickets before, "but never this big.''

Along with the two jackpot winners who will split the main prize, the March 18 drawing also saw eight $1 million Match 5 winners, according to a lottery statement.

The winning numbers for Tuesday's drawing were: 51-24-11-33-19. The Mega Ball was 7.

The jackpot was initially reported to be $400 million, until lottery officials revised the total up to $414 million after a flood of last-minute ticket purchases.

"I'm feeling on top of the world; why not? I'm going to make somebody's dream and wish true," Jhala said, smiling.

"I hope it was one of my friends," said a shopper outside the store.

The jackpot is the sixth-largest lottery prize in U.S. history, and the third-largest in Mega Millions history, with a lump-sum option of $230.9 million.

In Maryland, the winner has 182 days to claim the prize, but we may never know the identity of the winner; the state is one of six states that allows lottery winners to remain anonymous.

Maryland has been very lucky when it come to winning Mega Millions jackpots. The winning ticket for the largest jackpot ever was sold in the state in 2012, when three winning tickets shared the $656 million prize.

Mega Millions changed its rules in October to help increase jackpots. The game is played in 43 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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