The winning ticket of the $1.28 billion lottery jackpot was sold at a gas station in Des Plaines, Illinois, lottery officials announced Saturday.
The winning numbers, which were 13, 36, 45, 57, and 67, with the gold Mega Ball being 14, were sold to just one person near the Speedy Cafe Speedway gas station, the lottery said Saturday morning. The venue that sells the winning ticket also gets a monetary prize.
MEGA MILLIONS JACKPOT TOPS $1 BILLION AFTER NO WINNER TUESDAY NIGHT
“Congratulations to the Illinois Lottery for selling the winning ticket for the $1.337 billion Mega Millions jackpot,” Ohio Lottery Director Pat McDonald said after Friday night’s drawing. “We are thrilled to have witnessed one of the biggest jackpot wins in Mega Millions history. We’re eager to find out who won and look forward to congratulating the winner soon! Better still, this exciting jackpot run has had a significant positive impact on the revenues for good causes raised by our member lotteries.”
The winner of the billion-dollar prize now faces a choice. Winners are allowed to claim a cash prize, estimated at $747 million for Friday’s jackpot, or to collect the full $1.28 billion before taxes over the span of 29 years.
Twenty-six people won a $1 million prize by matching five of the winning balls to the jackpot. Six winners will receive $2 million after getting the five balls and the 2x multiplier, according to the lottery’s website.
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The odds of winning the lottery are 1 in 302.5 million, and the odds of winning the lower $1 million prize are approximately 1 in 12.6 million, according to Fox Business. The name of the winner of the jackpot was not announced.
The next jackpot is set for $20 million, the same prize amount as the last lottery winner on April 15. The Mega Millions lottery is played in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
