Skyscraper’s the limit for US lottery jackpot
How does the $565 million Mega Millions prize look like? Imagine a stack of hundreddollar bills 200 feet taller than New York City’s 1 World Trade Center.
The draw for the second-largest lottery prize in US history, a cool $1 billion, was held on Friday as lotto fever gripped the United States.
The lucky numbers 15, 23, 53, 65, 70 and the Mega Ball 7 were drawn on Friday night.
The winner can opt for an immediate cash payment of $565.6 million or receive the $1billion prize over 29 years. If the $565.6 million were paid in cash, the stack of hundred-dollar bills would reach 618 meters (2,027 feet). That is taller than any skyscraper in the United States including New York City’s 1 World Trade Center, which reaches 546 m(1,792 ft) at its tip.
The winner of such a prize would be worth more than Vera Bradley Inc. and easily have enough money left over to buy a full set of the company’s trademark paisley purses and luggage.
The winnings could also buy the entire content of a department store, with enough left over to be worth more than J.C. Penney Co. Inc., valued at $469 million.
The newfound lottery wealth would also put the winner above Barnes & Noble Inc. and Red Robin Gourmet Burgers Inc., both worth under $500 million.
Mega Millions tickets are sold in 44 US states, the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands.
Record set in 2016
If more than one winner were picked, the jackpot would be divided proportionately, as happened when the previous Mega Millions record of $656 million was drawn in March 2012, and was shared by winners in Kansas, Illinois and Maryland, a lottery official said.
Powerball, which holds the record for the largest US lottery prize of $1.586 billion in 2016, will hold a separate draw on Saturday. Its jackpot grew on Friday to $470 million from $430 million, with a lump sum value of $268.6 million.
The 24 semiweekly Mega Millions draws have failed to produce a top winner since July 24, when an 11-member office pool in Santa Clara County, California, hit a $543-million jackpot.
The odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot are 1 in 302,575,350, but the odds of winning any of the lesser prizes are 1 in 24.
If no one wins the Friday draw, lottery officials estimate the jackpot will grow to $1.6 billion, a new US lottery record, for the next draw on Tuesday.