After-Christmas surprise for Missouri winner Drawing Date: 12/26/2023 January 31, 2024 - A Missouri Lottery player in St. Charles County is still in shock after winning a $1 million Mega Millions® prize. The winning ticket was purchased at QuikTrip, 4646 S. St. Peters Parkway in St. Peters, and matched all five white-ball numbers drawn on Dec. 26 – 8, 10, 22, 58, and 64 – while only missing the Mega Ball number of 21. Ironically, the winner had recently engaged in a conversation at her job about what she would do if she ever won a Lottery prize, which led to her texting a recap of the discussion to her family. “I texted my girls and my dad, and they were like, ‘Did you win the lottery?’” the winner shared. “I was like, ‘No, that’s a common question because we were having a discussion.’” But just a few days later, she and her daughter checked a few tickets that were lying around, including the lucky Mega Millions ticket. “I was holding the ticket in my hand, and she was naming off the numbers. I got the first number right, the second number right. I got all the numbers right but the Mega Ball,” the winner said. “We were talking and crying and couldn’t sleep.” The winner shared plans to use her winnings to purchase vehicles for her daughters and her father, alongside doing some work on her house. Friday’s Mega Millions jackpot is estimated at $333 million. In FY23, players in St. Charles County won more than $63.3 million in Missouri Lottery prizes, retailers received more than $6.4 million in commissions and bonuses, and more than $6.3 million in Lottery proceeds went to education programs in the county.