Lottery player turns $5 into life-changing win at Florida Publix. Where was ticket sold?
A Publix shopper's decision to buy a $5 lottery ticket during a trip to a Florida grocery store ended up winning him a jackpot prize.
The winner, identified as 67-year-old Roger Shackelford, won $1 million in the Millionaire Maker game, the Florida Lottery said March 6.
The Tampa Bay-area man bought his lucky ticket at the Publix Super Market at the Shoppes of Lithia in Valrico, lottery officials said.
He beat the odds of 1-in-3,834,630 to nab one of six prizes of $1 million, although only one top prize remains in the game that launched in May, records show.
Shackelford claimed his windfall at the Florida Lottery's Tampa office with a one-time payment of $640,000, according to lottery officials.
The Hillsborough County Publix will receive a $2,000 bonus as well.
Valrico is about a 16-mile drive east from downtown Tampa.
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Yahoo
15 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Official leaving Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson's administration for Obama Foundation
CHICAGO — Mayor Brandon Johnson's chief operating officer is leaving the administration to join the Obama Foundation, ending weeks of speculation — and pushback — over his potential appointment to lead the CTA. The Obama Foundation told the Tribune John Roberson will join its leadership team as executive vice president starting July 7. And Johnson spokesperson Cassio Mendoza confirmed Roberson's last day in the mayor's office will be June 20. 'I want to thank John Roberson for his dedication and service to our city over these past two years,' Johnson said in a statement. 'I wish him the best of luck as he continues to serve our city in his new role at the Obama Foundation.' Roberson did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday. A member of the administration since the freshman mayor assumed office, Roberson is the last official within Johnson's inner circle with previous City Hall experience. His resignation was announced in a senior staff call Monday morning, sources said. 'John has the right background, experience and reputation to lead the operations of the Obama Presidential Center as we prepare to welcome the people of Chicago and the world to our campus next year,' Valerie Jarrett, CEO of The Obama Foundation, wrote in a statement. 'John is well known for his rigor and commitment to excellence and his values-based leadership approach which aligns strongly with President Obama's vision.' For the last several weeks, Roberson had been the subject of opposition from transit advocates who feared the Johnson administration was angling to install him as the next president of the CTA. The agency has been left without a permanent leader since late January, when embattled president Dorval Carter retired. Transit activists sought a thorough search process for the agency's new head, whom they hoped would have previous experience leading a mass transit system. Johnson's team has said they did do a national search and he has not made a decision. Earlier this spring, Roberson was also rumored to be Johnson's next Chicago Department of Aviation commissioner. In the end, he was tapped for neither the Aviation nor the CTA role, and his exit from city government leaves the Johnson administration without any old-school City Hall bureaucrats among his top advisers. It also leaves a giant question mark on how the course of a looming budget crisis within for the CTA will play out. The Illinois General Assembly adjourned this month without a solution to the estimated $771 million budget gap for Chicago-area transit agencies after negotiations fell apart at the eleventh hour. Some Johnson critics said the trepidation over CTA's leadership under Johnson, who defended Carter throughout his controversial reign, impeded the transit agency's case before lawmakers that it can be trusted with more revenue to stave off the fiscal cliff. The mayor retorted last week that was a 'poor analysis' but did not say whether he will name the next CTA president before Springfield reconvenes to hammer out its transit package. 'I have not made a decision on who our appointment is going to be,' Johnson told reporters last week. Roberson's transition into the nonprofit sector comes after wearing multiple hats over the course of his government career, including commissioner of the Aviation, Buildings and Sewers departments under Mayor Richard M. Daley. He stepped down from city government in 2005 after he was named as a cooperating witness in a federal investigation into fraud in city hiring and promotions, though he denied that his role in the probe was behind his decision. Afterward, Roberson served as a top aide under Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and Ald. David Moore, 17th, before returning to City Hall to join the Johnson administration in May 2023. As COO, his main task has been overseeing the nuts and bolts of city operations and ensuring that government services run smoothly. The most visible role Roberson took on in that respect was managing the behind-the-scenes preparations for the Democratic National Convention's arrival in Chicago last August, when the mayor was thrust into the national spotlight and concluded the made-for-TV week of events with relatively high marks for how the city was portrayed on the national stage. A former organizer with the Chicago Teachers Union, Johnson took office after running as a firebrand progressive and had appointed Rich Guidice and Roberson as the two City Hall veterans among his top deputies. Their hires were seen as reassurance to members of the business community who worried the new mayor would shake up city government too much by only bringing in allies from his activist grassroots coalition. Those familiar with both Roberson and other top Johnson aides' thinking said the City Hall veteran at times clashed with mayoral staffers from more progressive grassroots backgrounds. Guidice, also the former head of the city's Office of Emergency Management and Communications, left as Johnson's chief of staff in April 2024 after less than a year on the job and was replaced by Cristina Pacione-Zayas, who rose up among the Northwest Side progressives and served as a state senator before joining the Johnson administration in 2023. Asked about Roberson's apparent tensions with progressives in the Johnson administration, Guidice said he never saw direct clashes but defended his former colleague and friend of more than two decades. 'They're losing someone with institutional knowledge in the administration, who knows the day-to-day operations of the city,' Guidice said. 'He was pretty aligned with my way of thinking, I would say, and my understanding of city government.' In the Obama Foundation release, Roberson said he's looking forward to his new role. 'As a son of the South Side, I couldn't be more proud to build on the tremendous accomplishments of the OPC team and deliver this game-changing institution to our community and for our great city,' he said. _____ (The Tribune's Gregory Royal Pratt contributed reporting.) _____
Chicago Tribune
an hour ago
- Chicago Tribune
Higher cost, loss of over-the-air TV leave some Chicago sports fans frustrated with new CHSN-Comcast deal
When the Chicago Sports Network went live Oct. 1, it didn't have a deal to be carried by Comcast, the market's largest pay-TV provider. But it touted an old school solution – broadcasting the network over-the-air – as a way to reach new fans in Chicago. The great free-TV regional sports network experiment lasted eight months, a sudden demise that may be creating some static among Chicago viewers that bought into the antenna solution. The nascent sports network finally joined the Comcast lineup Friday, but on the higher-priced Ultimate tier, which costs an additional $20 per month, on top of the $20.25 regional sports network fee charged to Chicago-area subscribers each month. In the wake of the deal, CHSN abruptly pulled the plug Monday on local TV affiliates in Chicago, Rockford, Peoria, and Fort Wayne and South Bend, Indiana. 'We are excited by our recent announcement bringing CHSN to Comcast viewers across the Chicagoland area, and we have heard a great deal of enthusiastic support from those viewers,' a CHSN spokesperson said in an email. 'While we appreciate the frustration felt by OTA users in the impacted markets, we continue to make OTA available in certain areas outside of Chicagoland.' That leaves an untold number of fans who may have purchased an indoor antenna, a new receiver or even clambered up onto a roof to hook up an outdoor antenna, with a bunch of wires and a blank TV screen where the White Sox, Bulls and Blackhawks once beamed into their homes. Tom Hedstrom from Skokie, who said he's been a White Sox fan since 1952, is one of them. 'The worst thing about this deal was CHSN agreeing to pull the plug on OTA,' Hedstrom said in an email Monday. A Comcast subscriber whose older TV was not equipped to receive the digital over-the-air broadcasts, Hedstrom bought a new receiver – at CHSN's advice – to go with his antenna, and was able to receive the network within weeks of its October launch. But Hedstrom will now need to upgrade his Comcast subscription to continue watching CHSN 'As a result, it will cost me an additional $30 per month because I will need to change my TV service from 'Popular' to 'Ultimate' and pay the full RSN fee plus some additional tax,' Hedstrom said. 'Will I do it? Yes, but I'm unhappy about it.' Getting on Comcast, and potentially reaching its one million Chicago-area subscribers, was nonetheless crucial for CHSN. A joint venture between the Sox, Bulls, Blackhawks and Nashville, Tennessee-based Standard Media, CHSN went live Oct.1 on pay-TV platforms DirecTV and Astound, and over the air in Chicago and several other markets. It added streaming service FuboTV and its own direct-to-consumer app, but was unable to strike a deal with Comcast, the market's largest pay-TV provider. In Chicago, CHSN leased two digital subchannels of WJYS-Ch. 62, a full-powered UHF TV station licensed to Hammond, to broadcast the sports network in high-definition to anyone that could capture the signal with a TV antenna. About 15% of the 3.46 million homes in the Chicago market watch TV using an antenna, according to Nielsen. Beyond reception limitations, some viewers with older TVs needed to buy new receivers to get the picture, a problem CHSN addressed on its website. Prior to launching the network, Jason Coyle, president of Chicago Sports Network, told the Tribune the over-the-air platform was an integral part of the strategy to 'reimagine' regional sports networks amid cord cutting and declining pay-TV subscribers. But the over-the-air offering proved to be a stumbling block in negotiations with Comcast, which balked at paying carriage fees to CHSN for programming some viewers could get for free. Comcast also pushed for moving CHSN to its more expensive Ultimate tier, something it has done with other regional sports networks across the U.S. in recent months. The Marquee Sports Network, the pay-TV home of the Cubs, remains on the lower-priced basic tier, at least for now. CHSN went live Friday on Comcast Channel 200, where its predecessor NBC Sports Chicago, resided until last fall. For Comcast customers on the lower-priced basic plan, Channel 200 bears a message that CHSN requires a subscription upgrade to watch. Comcast declined to say how many Chicago-area customers currently subscribe to the Ultimate plan. 'We don't provide the percentage of customers on Ultimate but can confirm that many sports fans already subscribe to the Ultimate TV level of service because of its comprehensive sports channel lineup,' a Comcast spokesperson said in an email Monday. Going live on Comcast Friday may have already given CHSN a boost in ratings. Sources said Friday's primetime audience for the Sox-Royals game was up 66% over the previous week's Sox-Orioles broadcast, which was prior to Comcast joining the pay-TV lineup. Marc Ganis, a Chicago-based sports marketing consultant, said it was nonetheless unlikely that many subscribers will upgrade to the Ultimate plan amid another losing White Sox campaign, with the team sporting the worst record in the American League through 66 games. He said subscription upgrades will likely pick up when the teams do better. 'It will be one of those rare examples when the customers will speak very loudly with their purchases deciding when and whether they choose to pay up or not for the sports package upgrade,' Ganis said. While cheered by many, the new carriage deal has nonetheless created some static among Chicago sports fans, especially those who took the antenna plunge, and now are being asked to pay up to see CHSN on Comcast. Erin Blasko, a longtime Sox fan living in South Bend, watched CHSN over-the-air on the digital subchannel of local affiliate WHME-TV. 'I'm disappointed to learn CHSN is ending its OTA broadcasts,' Blasko said in an email. 'The Sox and other MLB teams should be expanding — not shrinking – opportunities for fans to watch games at all price levels.' While Comcast is available on the Ultimate tier in South Bend, Blasko, who hasn't subscribed to the cable provider 'in more than 15 years,' plans to sign up for the $19.99 per month CHSN streaming app to keep watching the Sox this season. Keith Williams, a Comcast Ultimate subscriber who lives in north suburban Lake Forest, bought a $70 amplified indoor antenna in September as a backup for when his cable service goes out. It ended up in the starting lineup, delivering CHSN amid the protracted Comcast blackout through the entire Bulls and Blackhawks seasons, and a chunk of the current White Sox season. While CHSN is now live on his cable plan, Williams said the cost to watch the regional sports network has risen enough for him to consider other pay-TV options. 'Sad though that Comcast forced them to take OTA service away from people … and especially away from people who will find $500 per year to be a substantial or overwhelming burden on their family budgets,' Williams said in an email. Meanwhile, David Perlman, a Comcast Ultimate subscriber in Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood, was never able to get the CHSN over-the-air broadcasts. He tried an old roof antenna, bought a new antenna and eventually gave up as both the Bulls and Hawks seasons slipped away. On Friday, CHSN magically appeared in his Comcast channel lineup. But Perlman said doesn't plan to tune in until the Bulls and Hawks return to action. 'Being a lifelong Cubs fan, I have no particular use now for their station until the fall, when next season begins for both teams,' Perlman said. rchannick@
Hamilton Spectator
8 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Montreal home sales, prices rise in May despite steady rates and economic uncertainty
MONTREAL - Home sales in the Montreal-area rose again in May compared with the same month a year ago, as the city's real estate board says both activity and price growth show no signs of tapering off. The Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers says 4,992 homes in the region changed hands last month, up 10.2 per cent from 4,532 sales in May 2024. Charles Brant, the board's market analysis director, says it marks the third straight month of similar year-over-year sales growth despite mortgage rates remaining in a holding pattern and 'ongoing economic uncertainty.' Brant says there are also 'no signs of a lull in price growth' as around one in seven homes sold above the asking price last month. The median price for all housing types in the Montreal area was up year-over-year, led by an 8.7 per cent increase in price of a single-family home to $625,000. The median price of a plex rose 5.1 per cent to $825,000 and the median price of a condominium increased 4.3 per cent to $427,500. There were 7,596 new listings in the Montreal area last month, up 11.2 per cent from a year earlier, as active listings rose 2.4 per cent to 18,920. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 9, 2025.
