One of the most anticipated lottery draws in US history, officially came to its climax last night after someone successfully matched the winning numbers for the staggering 1.28 billion dollars Jackpot of the Mega Million lottery draw.
The winning ticket was reportedly purchased in Chicago, Illinois bringing an end to one of the most hyped draws of all time which saw even celebrities getting in on purchases of dozens of tickets albeit most likely for gimmicks.
The Mega Millions lottery ended up worth $1.28bn and Friday night’s winning numbers were: 13-36-45-57-67, Mega Ball: 14.
The jackpot is said to be the third-largest prize and the biggest in nearly four years according to the lottery.
A winning was confirmed on the lottery’s website megamillion.com which indicated that the lucky purchase originated from a Speedway gas station in Des Plaines, roughly a 20-mile drive northwest of downtown Chicago.
“We are thrilled to have witnessed one of the biggest jackpot wins in Mega Millions history,” Pat McDonald, Ohio’s lottery director who is currently serving as lead director for the Mega Millions Consortium, said in a statement on the lottery’s website. “We’re eager to find out who won and look forward to congratulating the winner soon!” as per the Guardian.
The winner of the mega pot of prize is still at large as he or have yet to claim their winnings according to Illinois Lottery Director Harold Mays
“We have not heard from the winner yet. We don’t know whether … they even know that they won a prize. So I encourage everybody to check your ticket”
The actual take home pay out for the winner will however be reduced to US $747.2 million before taxes, according to Mega Millions.
They’ll have the option to take the full US $1.28 billion prize before taxes paid out over 29 years with 30 annual payments of $42.6 million or an immediate cash out.
Federal lottery withholdings and additional taxes at a higher tax bracket would further reduce total take home of US $470.7 million if they choose the cash prize, and US $26.9 million a year if they take the annual payments. As per Forbes
The ticket holder has up to a year from the drawing to claim the prize, and can choose to withhold his or her name from the public, Mays said.
The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 302.5m.
Mega Millions is played in 45 states as well as Washington DC, and the US Virgin Islands. The game is coordinated by state lotteries.
The draw began to inflate after April 15 with no jackpot winner in over four months before eventually ballooning to the billion-dollar mark which further fueled more purchases of ticket by hopefuls of the 12-digit pay out.
The lottery’s largest jackpot in history is US $1.54 billion in 2018 and the largest jackpot of any US lottery game was US $1.586 billion was a Powerball prize in January 13, 2016, shared by winners in California, Florida and Tennessee.
