$1.5B Mega Millions winner bought in SC
Jackpot falls just short of 2016 Powerball record
A very lucky and very rich Mega Millions ticket owner has won the record $1.537 billion jackpot – and we may never know the winner’s identity.
Mega Millions officials say a ticket purchased in South Carolina matches all six numbers in Tuesday’s drawing. The jackpot fell just short of the nation’s biggest prize, a $1.586 billion Powerball windfall that drew three winning tickets in 2016. The Mega Millions prize is, however, the largest for only one ticket.
“Our message to the $1.5 BILLION #Mega Millions jackpot winner: Sign the back of the ticket, place the ticket in a safe location, speak with a trusted advisor and CALL THE LOTTERY,” the South Carolina Education Lottery said on Twitter. “Take a deep breath and enjoy the moment!”
The ticket was sold at a KC Mart in Simpsonville, 90 miles northwest of Columbia. Lottery representatives unfurled a banner at the convenience store that read “Luck Struck Here!”
KC Mart owner C.J. Patel said he will receive about $30,000 for his role in the mega-event. He said he plans to split the proceeds with his four employees.
South Carolina is one of several states that does not require lottery winners to publicly reveal their identities. The winner or winners can quietly claim the annuity, or more likely the cash option of $877.8 million, and disappear.
Mega Millions officials had forecast a U.S. record $1.6 billion prize, but ticket sales came in slightly below expectations. Still, the final total did set the Mega Millions record.
“The moment we’ve been waiting for finally arrived, and we couldn’t be more excited,” said Gordon Medenica, director of the Mega Millions Group and head of Maryland Lottery and Gaming. “This is truly a historic occasion.”
Lottery players can now turn their attention to Wednesday night’s $620 million Powerball prize. It has been more than two months since Powerball saw a grand prize winner, when New Yorker Nandlall Mangal was the sole winner of $245.6 million.
Some KC Mart customers were hoping some Mega Millions luck would rub off as they played the Powerball.
“Sell me another lucky one. Now I know y’all have it!” Chase Hatcher said with a smile.
The bloated prizes are a function of a jackpot drought. Mega Millions last saw a jackpot winner July 24, when 11 California co-workers shared a cool $543 million – the largest prize ever won on a single Mega Millions ticket.
The drought isn’t entirely luck, either. Mega Millions tweaked its game a year ago, dropping the odds of winning the grand prize from one in 259 million to one in 302 million. Mega Millions also doubled the entry ticket price from $1 to $2. The result: three of the six largest payouts in a game that started more than 20 years ago.
Powerball made winning more difficult two years ago. But that game’s U.S. record did not fall as expected Tuesday night. Tweeted Mega Millions on Wednesday: “BREAKING: The final #MegaMillions winning jackpot amount is $1.537 BILLION! This means it does NOT break the largest jackpot record set by #Powerball!”
Tuesday’s Mega Millions winning numbers were 5, 28, 62, 65, 70 and Mega Ball 5.
The sales frenzy leading up to Tuesday’s drawing also produced an amazing 36 second-prize tickets – each matching the five white balls drawn Tuesday night. Eight were in California, four in Florida and New York, two in Massachusetts, Michigan, North Carolina, New Jersey and Virginia, and one each in Arizona, the District of Columbia, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin. Those tickets are worth a cool $1 million, except for the ticket holder in Texas and one in Florida. They bought the optional Megaplier, so those two tickets are worth $3 million each.