A Single Jackpot-Winning Ticket
The winning ticket was the only one from over 15 million winners on Tuesday 23rd October to match all six numbers drawn. They were 5, 28, 62, 65, 70 and Mega Ball 5. They have overcome incredible odds of over 1 in 302 million to win the extraordinary jackpot amount.
36 ticket holders got close to landing a share of the jackpot for themselves but just missed out after failing to match the all-important Mega Ball. With such a substantial jackpot up for grabs, Mega Millions ticket sales had rocketed throughout the week in the lead-up to the draw and it certainly didn’t disappoint with excitement and anticipation coursing through the veins of millions of hopeful ticket holders.
The jackpot winner now has to come forward and claim their mammoth prize, and must decide whether to opt for the cash or annuity option. The one-off, cash lump sum is valued at $878 million.
Biggest Prize in History
The top prize worth $1.53 billion eclipsed the lottery’s previous jackpot record of $656 million, claimed in March 2012 by three ticket holders in Kansas, Illinois and Maryland. The Mega Millions jackpot has just fallen short of becoming the largest of all time in any lottery, however, which remains the $1.58 billion Powerball jackpot won by three ticket holders in Tennessee, Florida and California in January 2016.
The Mega Millions jackpot reached this monumental amount after 25 consecutive rollovers dating back to July when a $543 million top prize was won in California. That particular jackpot had rolled over 22 times itself before finally being won for the first time in almost three months, with the winning ticket bought from Ernie’s Liquors in San Jose, California.
The Mega Millions jackpot will now automatically reset to $40 million ahead of the draw on Friday 26th October after being won, and you can follow in the footsteps of the latest winner by picking your numbers online or from an authorised ticket retailer in any one of the participating states.
