Of Saturday’s Powerball, Florida Lotto, Cash4Life and Fantasy 5 games, only one had jackpot winners — four of them, in fact.
The Fantasy 5 midday draw came up 3, 5, 12, 14 and 29, which matched a Quick Pick ticket bought at a Winter Garden Circle K gas station, 14990 Colonial Dr. That bit of luck was worth $58,732.
The Fantasy 5 evening draw got split between South Florida Quick Pick tickets. The numbers 4, 23, 24, 32 and 33 were on a free Quick Pick tickets spit out at Hialeah’s La Bodeguita De Chacha, 4995 E. 4th Ave., and Best Value Food Store, 1040 NW 47th Ave., in Plantation. The Price Choice Food Market in North Miami-Dade at 2712 NW 95th St. sold the third winning ticket.
Each ticket is worth $41,496.
These tickets must be cashed at the Florida Lottery main office in Tallahassee or one of the nine district offices. The closest one to the Miami-Dade and Broward locations is in Miami Lakes, 14621 Oak Ln., and is open Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Appointments can be made, but aren’t required. The office can be reached by emailing MIARC@flalottery.com or calling 305-364-3080.
Since 1989, David J. Neal’s domain at the Miami Herald has expanded to include writing about Panthers (NHL and FIU), Dolphins, old school animation, food safety, fraud, naughty lawyers, bad doctors and all manner of breaking news. He drinks coladas whole. He does not work Indianapolis 500 Race Day.
Man tried claiming $115K Fantasy 5 ticket; staff flagged it stolen.
District office verification and electronic logs helped investigators trace ticket.
Areeb alleged uncle gave him ticket; later admitted false claim.
A Florida man who tried to cash a winning lottery ticket worth $115,733 at a Florida Lottery office ended up in jail after officials determined the ticket had been stolen weeks earlier.
Jawed Areeb, above, was arrested after allegedly attempting to cash a stolen $115,733 Fantasy 5 lottery ticket at a Florida Lottery office in West Palm Beach. Investigators say the ticket had been reported stolen weeks earlier. (Image: Palm Beach County Jail)
Jawed Areeb, 26, appeared at the office in West Palm Beach on October 30 clutching the ticket for the Florida Lottery’s Fantasy 5 draw games, CBS12 reports. The six-figure payout indicates it was a jackpot-level win – likely matching all five numbers – although officials did not confirm this.
Ticket Traced
Lottery rules require prizes over $600 to be claimed at a district office, where stricter identification and verification procedures are in place.
Because Fantasy 5 is a draw-based lottery game, tickets are logged electronically at the time of purchase rather than revealed instantly like scratch-offs, allowing officials to identify the ticket as stolen during processing.
Despite the turn of events, Areeb maintained the ticket was his. During a subsequent investigation by a Florida Lottery law enforcement special agent, Areeb insisted he was given the ticket by his uncle who asked him to cash the ticket on his behalf.
When asked to provide his uncle’s name and the address of his place of business, Areeb gave the same address from which the ticket had been reported stolen. He was arrested and booked into the Palm Beach County Jail on January 3.
Serious Repercussions
Unfortunately for Areeb, under Florida law, a lottery ticket is considered personal property, and ownership of the ticket carries ownership of any prize it wins. As a result, attempting to cash a stolen winning ticket is treated as theft of the prize money itself, not merely the paper ticket.
If prosecutors charge the case based on the value of the attempted theft, it would fall under first-degree grand theft, because the amount exceeds $100K. That comes with a maximum penalty of up to 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $10K.
However, such maximum sentences are imposed rarely, especially in cases involving non-violent offenses and unsuccessful attempts to obtain the money.
In 2023, a Massachusetts store clerk’s attempt to cash a $3 million scratch-off ticket she stole from a customer saw her facing multiple felony charges of larceny and fraud. But the judge went easy on 24-year-old Carly Nunes, sentencing her in February 2024 to two years’ probation with the requirement that she continue treatment for substance abuse.
There was one jackpot win but two big winners among Wednesday’s Powerball, Florida Lotto, Cash4Life and Fantasy 5 drawings.
The Florida Lotto top prize in Saturday’s drawing will be $14 million after nobody hit the main drawing sextet of 2, 4, 43, 48, 52 and 53. But a Quick Pick ticket bought at a Naples Publix, 13550 Immokalee Rd., had the Double Play numbers — 12, 21, 29, 34, 47, 51 — and is worth $250,000.
For the second time in 23 days, Supermercados El Bodegon at 4704 Forest Hill Blvd. in unincorporated Palm Beach County sold a Fantasy 5 jackpot winning Quick Pick ticket. This time, it was for the evening draw, which came up 1, 11, 17, 23 and 31 and was worth $115,069.
These tickets must be cashed at the Florida Lottery main office in Tallahassee or one of the nine district offices throughout the state. The office in Palm Beach is a half mile east of El Bodegon, in Palm Springs at 4360 Forest Hill Blvd. and can be reached at WPBRC@flalottery.com or 561-640-6190. Appointments can be made, but aren’t necessary.
This story was originally published January 8, 2026 at 9:51 AM.
Since 1989, David J. Neal’s domain at the Miami Herald has expanded to include writing about Panthers (NHL and FIU), Dolphins, old school animation, food safety, fraud, naughty lawyers, bad doctors and all manner of breaking news. He drinks coladas whole. He does not work Indianapolis 500 Race Day.
Two days of the major money Florida Lottery draw games produced only one big winner, someone who bought the ticket at a Publix.
Nobody won the top prize in Mega Millions, Powerball, Jackpot Triple Play (next draw: $2 million), Florida Lotto (next draw: $13 million), Cash4Life or three of the four Fantasy 5 drawings.
Saturday’s midday Fantasy 5 drawing came up 8, 13, 25, 30 and 33, which matched a Quick Pick ticket bought at a Plant City Publix, 2202 Jim Redman Pkwy. That’s a $60,090 hunk of luck.
This ticket needs to be cashed at the Florida Lottery main office in Tallahassee or one of the nine district offices, such as the one in Tampa at Centerpoint Business Park, 1911 U.S. 301 N. Like most of the offices, it’s open 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Appointments can be made, but aren’t required, at TAMRC@flalottery.com or 813-744-6134.
Since 1989, David J. Neal’s domain at the Miami Herald has expanded to include writing about Panthers (NHL and FIU), Dolphins, old school animation, food safety, fraud, naughty lawyers, bad doctors and all manner of breaking news. He drinks coladas whole. He does not work Indianapolis 500 Race Day.
