A single ticket-holder in Maine won an estimated
$1.35 billion in the Mega Millions drawing Friday night.
The identity of the winner was not yet publicly known — and
might never be — but they join a lucky few who beat nearly impossible odds to
win one of the biggest jackpots in US history. The winning numbers were 30, 43,
45, 46, and 61, and the gold Mega Ball was 14.
اضافة اعلان
Huge jackpots have become increasingly common in the
multistate Mega Millions and Powerball drawings.
Since 2016, six lottery jackpots — split between Mega
Millions and its competing lottery, Powerball — in the US have surpassed $1
billion, including three in the past year.
This week, the Mega Millions jackpot once again reached 10
figures, a breathtaking figure even after taxes.
After no winner in the previous 25 drawings, someone had a
winning ticket for Friday night’s drawing. The jackpot offered a prize of
roughly $1.35 billion, paid out over 30 years, with a cash option of $724.6 million
if the winner chooses to be paid in one lump sum.
It was unclear who had won Friday night’s drawing, but it
now represents the fourth-largest lottery prize in US history, and the
second-largest Mega Millions prize.
The first thing winners should do, according to experts, is seek advice from a lawyer, a financial adviser, and an accountant.
The first thing winners should do, according to experts, is
seek advice from a lawyer, a financial adviser, and an accountant. And winners
should research the professionals they turn to for help, checking the status of
their licenses and getting references. (Those resources are online.)
States oversee lottery operations and have different rules
for how winnings are taxed and whether the names of the winners must be made
public.
It was not immediately clear what Maine’s rules are about
making a winner public. In Maine, winners have up to one year from when the
jackpot numbers are drawn to claim their prize.
Over the years, changes to the games and higher ticket
prices have led to bigger jackpots. The starting prize for the Powerball
jackpot doubled in 2012, to $40 million from $20 million, with a new ticket
price of $2. In 2015, the matrix of the Powerball changed when the range of
numbers to pick from increased to 1 to 69 from 1 to 59 for the first five
numbers, and the Powerball number options changed to 1 to 26 from 1 to 35.
The Mega Millions in 2017 increased its starting jackpot to
$40 million from $15 million, and raised the ticket price to $2 from $1.
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