IT staff believed to have won $319m on Mega Millions

Monday March 28^th 2011

A group of IT workers from New York are thought to have won Friday’s $319million Mega Millions jackpot prize. The seven-strong syndicate is believed to be made up of employees from New York State’s Department of Homes and Community Renewal.

So far no one has come forward to claim the huge prize or try to validate the winning ticket, but the state lottery office has been closed since Friday. The winning ticket is known to have been sold by Steve Hutchins who runs a convenience store in Albany.

Speaking to the New York Post, Mr Hutchins said: "It's very neat to know someone who comes into my store is going to be very wealthy from a ticket we sold them.

"It makes me feel warm inside."

Mr Hutchens will get $10,000 dollars of his own to keep him warm – his bonus from the lottery organisers for selling the winning ticket.

According to a union spokesperson for the Public Employees Federation, the winners are "just middle class folks".

The Mega Millions lottery jackpot wasn’t the only one to fall on Friday night. The EuroMillions top prize of £121m was shared by two winners from Portugal and Belgium. Some UK residents who buy lottery tickets online were unable to take part though after unprecedented demand led to a technical problem on the UK lottery’s website.

Written by Katelin Thompson

Written by Chris Brown

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