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Mega Millions Winner in Maine Scores $1.35 Billion Prize

Single ticket won the jackpot on Friday the 13th
The odds of winning the top prize were 1 in 302.6 million. PHOTO: JOHN LOCHER/ASSOCIATED PRESS

The odds of winning the top prize were 1 in 302.6 million. PHOTO: JOHN LOCHER/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Maine won its first Mega Millions jackpot Friday when a ticket bought in the state matched the winning numbers for the $1.35 billion prize. 

The estimated $1.35 billion jackpot is the second-largest prize in Mega Millions history, officials said, and the fourth-biggest lottery haul in U.S. history. 

The ticket holder beat 1 in 302.6 million odds by drawing winning numbers 30, 43, 45, 46, 61 and the gold Mega Ball of 14. 

Mega Millions held three months of drawings without a claim on the jackpot before Friday. 

The identity of the person or people who bought the winning ticket isn’t yet known.

“Congratulations to the Maine State Lottery, which has just won its first-ever Mega Millions jackpot,” Pat McDonald, Ohio lottery director and lead director of the Mega Millions Consortium, said Saturday.

Since both Mega Millions and Powerball began selling lottery tickets in the 1990s, their jackpots have topped $1 billion six times. Friday’s $1.35 billion prize was the fourth-biggest lottery haul in U.S. history, officials said. 

Those records have all been made in recent years after lottery officials made their games harder to win by increasing the quantity of numbers players had to choose and expanding the games to more states. 

Lottery officials said they hoped higher jackpots would draw increased media attention, therefore encouraging more people to buy tickets and contribute to the prize pool.

Winners can choose to receive annuity payments over three decades or a smaller lump sum. Most winners take the lump sum, lottery officials said. Friday’s cash payout would be $724 million, according to Mr. McDonald.  

Friday’s drawing had other winners as well. Fourteen tickets matched all five white balls to win $1 million. Four of those were sold in New York, two in California, and one each in Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Texas.

More than 160 Mega Millions players matched enough numbers to take home prizes ranging from $10,000 to $20,000, the organization said. 

Friday’s jackpot had been rolling over since Oct. 14, when a $502 million prize was shared by winning tickets in California and Florida.  

Write to Ginger Adams Otis at Ginger.AdamsOtis@wsj.com

Author: Editors Desk

Source: WSJ:

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