The American lottery has indicated that a Mega Millions ticket sold in the state of Maine had allowed its owner to win the staggering jackpot of 1.35 billion dollars (1.24 billion euros) put up for grabs on Friday, January 13, reports CNN.
The winning numbers -30,43,45,46,61, with 14 as an extra number- were played at a service station in Lebanon, a small town of 6,500 inhabitants. The venue’s owner, Fred Cotreau, told CNN that he initially believed the call from the US Lottery telling him the winning ticket had been played at his establishment was a hoax.
“A very good news”
“It’s almost impossible to realize how much someone’s life is going to change, regardless of their condition and where they live, when they receive these kinds of awards,” he said.
Fred Cotreau said he did not know who the winner was. But with Lebanon being a small rural community, the winning ticket is sure to be “very good news for that person.” This is the seventh jackpot won on a Friday the 13th in the United States, Mega Millions reported.
“Congratulations to the Maine State Lottery on winning its first Mega Millions jackpot. (…) This is the fourth billion dollar jackpot in Mega Millions history,” said Pat McDonald, who leads the Mega Millions Consortium.
2.040 million in November
The jackpot won on Friday, January 13, followed three months of draws with no winner. To reach $1.35 billion, the Maine winner will have to agree to receive an annuity for three decades. If, instead, he wishes to pocket his winnings in a single payment, he will receive “only” $724.6 million.
As CNN notes, this is the second-biggest win in Mega Millions history, with the all-time high dating back to 2018, when a South Carolina man won $1.537 billion.
But the absolute record is still held by Powerball, another lottery on the other side of the Atlantic. Last November, a Californian earned $2.04 billion.
Source: BFM TV
