(Washington) This is one of the biggest wins in the history of the American lottery: a winning ticket won the jackpot on Friday evening, or more than 1.33 billion dollars, organizers announced on Saturday.
Posted at 10:23 a.m.
“Mega Millions players, check your tickets!” We have a winner […] in Illinois. Stay tuned for more details! ,” the state lottery tweeted.
“We can’t wait to find out who won and hope to congratulate the winner soon! “, added in a press release Pat McDonald, a manager of Mega Millions.
The jackpot was initially estimated at $1.28 billion, but “the final value was higher than estimated,” based on actual sales, Mega Millions explained.
PHOTO JEENAH MOON, REUTERS
The jackpot was initially estimated at $1.28 billion.
Friday’s 1.337 billion represents what the lucky winner would get if they agreed to spread the payment over 30 years.
If he wanted to receive his prize all at once, he would receive “only” 780 million – part of which would then be deducted by taxes – according to an estimate by Mega Millions.
The jackpot for this lottery has grown steadily for more than three months, as have its players’ dreams of fortune, with no one having guessed the six correct numbers in the previous thirty draws.
The chances of winning this staggering sum were only one in nearly 303 million.
The biggest win ever was $1.586 billion. It was won in January 2016 in the other major American lottery, Powerball, but the spoils were divided between three winners.