2 winners to split historic Mississippi lotto jackpot. The tickets were sold miles apart

A last-minute “Quick Pick” play led a Mississippi man to a record-setting jackpot — but he’ll have to share it.

Both winners have claimed their cut of a $665,000 Mississippi Match 5 jackpot, which is the game’s largest prize to date, according to the Mississippi Lottery Corporation.

One ticket was purchased at Dandy Dan’s #514 at 4041 Highway 11 S. in Hattiesburg, and the other sold about 22 miles away at Keith’s Superstore #105 at 5213 Highway 11 N. in Ellisville, officials said. Both players matched all five numbers in Tuesday’s drawing and will split the prize evenly.

Neither has been named publicly.

“This is incredibly exciting to have two winners from Tuesday’s Mississippi Match 5 drawing,” MLC President Jeff Hewitt said in a statement. “We are looking forward to greeting them at MLC headquarters.”

The man who bought his winning ticket at Keith’s Superstore said he usually picks his own numbers, but chose to leave it to chance this time. He opted for the “Quick Pick,” and it paid off.

He was elated over his win but “joked about having to split the $665,000 jackpot with the Lamar County man who claimed his share” of the prize Wednesday, lottery officials said.

That man, who turned in his ticket to MLC headquarters early Wednesday, said he had a tough time convincing his wife that he’d won, according to a Mississippi Lottery Corporation news release. His wife, officials said, initially doubted him because he jokes around so often.

After double- and triple-checking his ticket, it finally sunk in that he’d matched all the numbers, the release states.

Mississippi Match 5 debuted April 28 and has a starting jackpot of $50,000, based on sales. Drawings are held on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday nights, according to the organization’s website. If no one wins, the jackpot continues to grow.

The odds of winning the top prize are 1 in 324,632.

Tanasia Kenney

Sun Herald

Tanasia is a service journalism reporter at the Charlotte Observer | CharlotteFive, working remotely from Atlanta, Georgia. She covers restaurant openings/closings in Charlotte and statewide explainers for the NC Service Journalism team. She’s been with McClatchy since 2020.