A 20-year-old Florida man woke up $450 million richer after stepping forward as the winner of the Mega Millions jackpot.
Shane Missler, 20, purchased five quick-pick Mega Millions tickets at a 7-Eleven store in Pasco County, Florida using money that he had won from a scratch-off lottery ticket.
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On Friday, Missler learned that his $10 was going to be exchanged for $450 million when he became the only person to match every number in the Jan. 5 drawing, making it the fourth-largest jackpot ever won in the history of Mega Millions and the second largest jackpot won by a single person.
“Oh. My. God.” Missler wrote on Facebook just minutes after the drawing.
“The power of positive thinking should not be underestimated,” he wrote on Twitter.
The power of positive thinking should not be underestimated!
— Shane Missler (@TheShaneMissler) January 11, 2018
The 20-year-old, who currently lives in Port Port Richley, Florida but is originally from Maine, went to community college for a year before moving to Florida. According to his Facebook account, he works as a Verifications Specialist at Universal Background Screening, Inc. With a new stash of cash coming his way, he says that he is going to be smart with how he uses it.
“I’m only 20, but I hope to use it to pursue a variety of passions, help my family and do some good for humanity. I intend to take care of my family, have some fun along the way and cement a path for financial success so that I can leave a legacy far into the future,” he said in a statement obtained by the Daily Mail. “If there is one thing I have learned thus far in my short time on this earth it is that those who maintain a positive mindset and stay true to themselves get rewarded. I look forward to the future.”
Missler has decided to take the lump sum of $281.2 million. He has since quit his job.
