A Mega Millions ticket purchased at a Bradenton, Florida Wawa beat the odds of 1 in 290,472,336 to win the $803 million jackpot in the Tuesday, July 28 drawing.
The Wawa store (#5185) at 14510 State Road 70 E., just east of Lakewood Ranch and a short drive from Sarasota, acknowledged selling the winning ticket with a sign affixed to a Florida Lottery ticket machine inside the store that reads, “Mega Millions winning ticket sold here, $800,000,000.”
The store’s manager declined to discuss the jackpot with the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, saying, “We’ve been told that we are not allowed to talk about that.”
The lucky winner has not yet been identified and has 60-180 days, depending on whether they choose a lump-sum cash payment or annual payments, to claim the jackpot.
When that time comes, just how much of the whopping $803 million windfall does the winner take home?
What were the winning Mega Millions numbers for the $800 million lottery jackpot?
The jackpot-winning ticket matched all six numbers drawn Tuesday night, ending a 37-drawing rollover streak.
The winning numbers for the Tuesday, July 28, drawing were 34-48-49-59-70, and the Mega Ball was 12.
“We are thrilled to congratulate Florida’s newest Mega Millions jackpot winner on this incredible, life-changing moment,” said Florida Lottery Secretary Reginald Dixon in a statement. “This win is an exciting reminder that every ticket carries the possibility of a dream come true. We are especially grateful to our valued Florida Lottery players, whose continued support helps generate funding for education across our state. Every ticket purchased contributes to creating brighter futures for Florida’s students.”
How long do you have to cash in a Florida Lottery ticket?
Prizes for Florida Lottery must be claimed within 180 days (six months) from the date of the drawing. To claim a single-payment cash option, a winner has the first 60 days after the applicable draw date to claim it.
Can you stay anonymous if you win the lottery in Florida?
According to Florida Lottery’s website, winners cannot remain anonymous: “Florida law mandates that the Florida Lottery provide records containing information such as the winner’s name, city of residence, game won, date won, and amount won to any third party who requests the information.”
However, the site says that the “names of lottery winners claiming prizes of $250,000 or greater will be temporarily exempt from public disclosure for 90 days from the date the prize is claimed, unless otherwise waived by the winner.”
Lottery experts and lawyers have said there are ways to remain anonymous if you win.
Where in Florida was the winning $800 million lottery ticket sold?
The winning Mega Millions lottery ticket, worth $803 million, was sold at Wawa store #5185 at 14510 State Road 70 E. in Bradenton, Florida, just east of Lakewood Ranch and a short drive from Sarasota.
How much of the $803 million Mega Millions lottery jackpot could the Florida winner take home?
According to Mega Millions, the winner can choose between a one-time lump-sum cash payment of $345.5 million before taxes, or 30 annual payments. The lump sum payment is “equal to the cash in the Mega Millions jackpot prize pool.”
Winnings in Florida are subject only to federal taxes. There is no state income tax in the Sunshine State.
According to the Florida Lottery, for prizes exceeding $5,000, federal tax will be immediately withheld at 24%.
That would bring the lump-sum payment down to around $262.58 million.
The jackpot will push the winner into the highest federal tax bracket of 37%; therefore, the winner will owe an additional 13% of the original lump-sum, or $39,041,500, when they file their annual federal tax return, reducing the winnings to just under $223.54 million.
The annuity option splits the $803 million jackpot into one immediate payment followed by 29 annual payments, with each payment 5% higher than the previous one, according to Mega Millions. Each annuity payment is subject to the same federal tax burden mentioned above.
What are the odds of winning Mega Millions?
The odds of winning are pretty low. According to the Mega Millions site, players have a 1 in 290,472,336 chance to match all five white balls plus the gold Mega Ball.
Top 10 highest Mega Millions jackpots of all time
As of July 28, 2026, these are the largest Mega Millions prizes in the history of the game, according to megamillions.com.
Mega Millions, Powerball jackpots that hit $1 billion and higher
As of July 28, 2026, there have been 14 lottery jackpots that have reached or surpassed $1 billion. Only once has a jackpot surpassed $2 billion. Listed below are the biggest lottery jackpots in U.S. history.
Kim Luciani is a journalist for the USA TODAY Network-Florida’s Audience team. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY, at https://heraldtribune.com/newsletters.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: How much of Mega Millions $800M jackpot Florida lottery winner will get
Reporting by Kim Luciani, Wade Tatangelo, Lianna Norman and Jennifer Sangalang, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Sarasota Herald-Tribune
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Kim Luciani, Wade Tatangelo, Lianna Norman and Jennifer Sangalang, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida | USA TODAY Network
