FAIRFIELD — The lucky person who won more than $8 million with a lottery ticket bought at a gas station convenience store came forward Friday.

The winning ticket was produced and verified, according Gerry Reid, director of the Maine State Lottery. The winner’s name has not been released to the public.

The $8,175,000 prize is one of the 10 largest jackpots ever won in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, the three states that play Megabucks.

The winner may choose to remain anonymous for up to five business days, but after that, the state lottery office will release the name.

The winning ticket was bought sometime between Saturday and Wednesday from the Big Apple convenience store on Route 104.

Store clerks said Thursday that they suspected the winner was among area residents who buy tickets on a regular basis.

Lisa Rodrigue, an official from the lottery office in Augusta, was on the phone early Friday afternoon discussing what would happen if no one came forward to claim the prize when coworkers interrupted her to say that the winner had just walked through the door.

The person has not yet decided whether to take the money as a lump sum payment of $5.9 million or whether to take payments totaling $8,175,000 over a 30-year period, Rodrigue said.

The jackpot for the lottery has been building up since the last winner struck in October. The new jackpot will begin again at its $1 million minimum.

The outlet that sold the ticket gets 1 percent of the jackpot amount up to a maximum of $30,000.

Matt Hongoltz-Hetling — 861-9287

mhhetling@centralmaine.com