HAMPTON ROADS, Va. — A Chesapeake man who won $1 million playing the Mega Million wants to use some of his winnings to give back.
Bill Pickens bought his ticket online, according to Virginia Lottery officials.
"That ticket matched the first five numbers in the July 22, 2022, drawing to win the $1 million prize. The only number he didn’t match was the Mega Ball number," lottery officials said in a press release. "Those winning numbers were 14-40-60-64-66, and the Mega Ball number was 16."
Pickens, who is retired, selected numbers that he's been playing for about a year.
Pickens told lottery officials he wants to use some of the money he won to make canes for Purple Heart veterans who need them.
Matching those numbers is quite a feat. The odds of matching the first five numbers in Mega Millions are 1 in 12,607,306. The odds of matching all six numbers to win the jackpot are 1 in 302,575,350, according to the lottery.
Profits from the Virginia Lottery go toward K-12 education across education. Last fiscal year, Chesapeake received almost $28.6 million in funds.
