A three-month drought in the Mega Millions lottery ended this week when someone in Illinois purchased a winning ticket online and will now collect more than half a billion dollars.
The individual, who has not been named, bought the ticket on the lottery’s website -- making them the biggest winner to date to purchase a ticket away from a physical location.
#JUSTIN Winning $552M Mega Millions jackpot ticket sold in Illinois https://t.co/G51QrsuPCZ
— WGN TV News (@WGNNews) June 5, 2024
The drawing also ended a drought for the lottery, as Mega Millions had not produced a winner since March.
The winning ticket for that drawing was sold in New Jersey when the jackpot was a $1.13 billion prize with a cash value of $537.5 million, Mega Millions said of the win on its website.
“This is the largest jackpot ever won in New Jersey and the fifth largest Mega Millions jackpot,” the lottery said in a news release.
Tuesday’s winning numbers were 19, 37, 40, 63, 69 and Mega Ball 17.
As CBS News noted, the person who won the jackpot set a record for the largest win for a ticket purchased online.
However, the largest Mega Millions prize ever taken home in Illinois was $1.34 billion in 2022.
The winning ticket was purchased by two people who agreed to split the prize if they won.
After the duo opted to take the lump sum payout, they split a prize of $780.5 million.
In total, more than six tickets worth more than $1 billion have been sold in Mega Millions history.
The largest prize ever drawn went to a resident of Florida, who purchased a winning ticket in the state last year worth $1.602 billion.
🎉 Historic Moment! 🌟Saltines Holdings, LLC, a Floridian, emerges victorious as the sole winner claiming the stunning $1.6 billion MEGA MILLIONS jackpot! 🌴🤑The life-changing Quick Pick ticket was snagged at a Publix in Neptune Beach. 🏆🎟️Cheers to dreams coming true! 🚀💰
— Florida Lottery (@floridalottery) December 27, 2023
The lump-sum prize in the drawing was estimated at $794,248,882, WOFL-TV reported.
Friday night’s drawing is currently worth $20 million, with a cash option of $9.3 million if a winning ticket is sold.
