The winning numbers were 5, 28, 62, 65, and 70, with a Mega Ball of 5.
Tuesday's jackpot was the largest prize in U.S. lottery history , just above a US$1.58 billion Powerball drawing in 2016 . Three people from Tennessee, Florida and California won.
The last time there was a Mega Millions winner was July 24, when an office pool of 11 people in California divided the US$543 million prize.
The odds of winning the jackpot were very slim — 1 in 302.5 million to be exact. But that didn't stop people from playing. About 280 million tickets were sold in last Friday's drawing, The Associated Press reported.
By Tuesday night, tickets in California were selling at the rate of 200 a second.
Any potential winners have from 180 days to a year to claim the prize, depending on which state the ticket was purchased in.
Jackpot winners can remain anonymous in eight states — Delaware, Georgia, Kansas, Maryland, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina and Texas. In Arizona, people who win more than US$600 can keep their names secret for 90 days after claiming prizes, but after that names are public record. In Michigan, winners are anonymous unless they win Mega Millions or Powerball prizes.
In general, taxes eat up nearly half of winnings. For winners of US$5,000 or more, all states automatically deduct 24 percent in federal taxes, but state taxes vary widely. Some big states, including California, don’t withhold taxes from lottery winnings, and some like Texas don’t have individual income taxes at all. For the others, the state takes a bite, especially in New York, where a winner would need to pay a state tax of 8.8% percent. Residents of New York City would pay an additional tax of 3.9%.
Source: GMB / NBC News
