The chase for the second-largest Mega Millions jackpot has ended -- with a single ticket sold in the Chicago area for the whole $1.337 billion.
One ticket bought in Des Plaines hit the top prize in Friday night's drawing, according to the Illinois Lottery, securing the third-largest jackpot of any US lottery game and ending a buildup that began when Mega Millions last drew a jackpot winner in mid-April.
The winning ticket was purchased at a Speedway gas station in Des Plaines, roughly a 20-mile drive northwest of downtown Chicago, the Illinois Lottery said Saturday.
"We have not heard from the winner yet. We don't know whether ... they even know that they won a prize. So I encourage everybody to check your ticket," Illinois Lottery Director Harold Mays told reporters Saturday morning in Chicago.
The jackpot rose to US$1.337 billion late Friday, up from an earlier estimate of US$1.28 billion, lottery operators said.
If the holder chooses a lump-sum cash option, the ticket will yield a one-time payment of about US$780 million. Otherwise, the nearly US$1.34 billion prize will be spread over an initial payment and 29 annual payments.
Friday night's winning numbers were 13, 36, 45, 57, 67 and a Mega Ball of 14.
The Speedway convenience store in Des Plaines will receive US$500,000 for selling the winning ticket, Mays said.
The ticket holder has a year from the drawing to claim the prize, and can choose to withhold his or her name from the public, Mays said. In Illinois, winners of more than US$250,000 can ask the lottery to keep their name and hometown confidential.
The largest ever Mega Millions jackpot of US$1.537 billion was won by a single ticket sold in South Carolina in 2018. That's the second-largest jackpot for any US lottery game, and it's the world's largest lottery prize won by just one ticket, according to Mega Millions.
The largest jackpot of any US lottery game was US$1.586 billion -- a Powerball prize from January 13, 2016, shared by winners in California, Florida and Tennessee.
Source: CNN
