Single ticket in Georgia claims US$980 million Mega Millions jackpot

A Georgia player has won an estimated US$980 million Mega Millions jackpot, the eighth-largest prize in the game’s history, according to the lottery. (Nam Y. Huh/AP via CNN Newsource)

A Georgia player has won an estimated US$980 million Mega Millions jackpot on Friday, the eighth-largest prize in the game’s history, according to the lottery.

The winning ticket matched all six winning numbers: 1, 8, 11, 12, 57, and Mega Ball 7.

The win ends a 40-drawing streak without a jackpot winner, making it the first time since June that the top prize has been claimed. In that previous drawing, a Virginia ticket won $348 million.

The winner can choose to receive the $980 million in annual payments over 30 years, or a lump-sum cash payout of $452.2 million, all before taxes.

The winning ticket was sold at a Publix supermarket in Newnan, a city roughly 40 miles southwest of Atlanta, according to the lottery. The store will receive a $50,000 retailer bonus from the Georgia Lottery for selling the jackpot ticket, the lottery said.

“We are thrilled to congratulate the largest winner in our state’s history,” Georgia Lottery President and CEO Gretchen Corbin said in the news release.

A lottery winner can remain anonymous in the state of Georgia if the person wins a prize of $250,000 or more and provides a written statement requesting “that his or her information be kept confidential,” according to state law.

This is the largest Mega Millions prize since the game’s overhaul in April, which raised ticket prices to $5 and increased the starting jackpot to $50 million. Under the new system, the odds of winning the jackpot are now 1 in 290 million, according to the lottery.

In the latest drawing, a ticket sold in Michigan won $3 million by matching all five white balls and the 3X multiplier, the lottery said. Another 22 tickets matched four white balls and the Mega Ball, winning $20,000.

The Mega Millions’ record jackpot stands at $1.6 billion, claimed by a single ticket sold in Florida in August 2023.

By Hanna Park, CNN