Maine scored its first Mega Millions jackpot — and someone beat the ill fortune of Friday the 13th — when a ticket purchased in the state matched the winning numbers for the lottery’s estimated $1.35 billion grand prize.
The lucky combination of numbers drawn late Friday night were: 30, 43, 45, 46, 61 and gold Mega Ball 14.
The winner, whose name is not yet known, overcame steep odds of 1 in 302.6 million, which led to three months of drawings — 25 consecutive — without a claim on the jackpot.
“Congratulations to the Maine State Lottery, which has just won its first-ever Mega Millions jackpot,” Pat McDonald, Ohio lottery director and lead director of the Mega Millions Consortium, said in a statement early Saturday.
The jackpot was the second largest in Mega Millions history and the fourth time the game has had a billion-dollar win. The largest Mega Millions jackpot in October 2018 was $1.53 billion claimed by a single ticket holder in South Carolina.
Why have lottery prizes grown so large? Another record-breaking Mega Millions jackpot is up for grabs Friday. Here’s why.
Friday’s prosperous drawing also marked the seventh time there was a grand prize winner on Friday the 13th, a date superstitiously considered unlucky.
To claim the full $1.35 billion, the winner would need to take the money in an annuity with annual payments over 29 years. Most jackpot recipients prefer the reduced but quicker cash option, which for Friday night’s drawing was an estimated $724.6 million.
Graphics:How much do you win after taxes on Mega Millions? The $1.35 billion jackpot shrinks significantly
What should I do if I win the lottery? Here’s what you need to know.
The next grand prize drawing on Tuesday will drop to an estimated $20 million and a cash option of $10.7 million.
How do I play Mega Millions?
To enter Mega Millions, players pick six numbers – or choose to have the lottery machine generate a random “Easy Pick” or “Quick Pick”:
- Five numbers will go from 1 to 70 (white balls)
- One number can be picked from 1 to 25 (gold Mega Ball)
If your ticket matches all six of the winning numbers from the drawing, you’ll win the jackpot. There are also smaller prizes depending on how many balls your numbers match.
The cost to play Mega Millions is $2 a ticket. You can add the Megaplier for $1, which will increase the amount of your potential prize up to five times the original prize (except for the jackpot).
Mega Millions can be played in 45 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
What are the chances of winning Mega Millions?
A giant jackpot attracts a lot of players – but it’s important to note that odds of taking home a Mega Millions top prize are extremely slim. Experts stress that people entering the lottery shouldn’t buy more tickets than they can afford.
“Imagine you write the letters to ‘Mega Millions’ on individual pieces of paper, mix them up, and let your cat randomly select letters. Your cat is five times more likely to correctly spell ‘Mega Millions’ than you are to win,” Matthew Kovach, an assistant professor of economics at Virginia Tech, told USA TODAY this week.
Kovach added that you are also more likely to be struck by lightning twice in your lifetime than win the lottery.
- The odds of winning the jackpot are 302,575,350 to 1.
- The odds to match all five white balls are 12,607,306 to 1.
Largest lottery prizes in US history
- $2.04 billion, Powerball, Nov. 7, 2022: Won in California.
- $1.586 billion, Powerball, Jan. 13, 2016: Three winners in California, Florida, Tennessee.
- $1.537 billion, Mega Millions, Oct. 23, 2018: Won in South Carolina.
- $1.35 billion, Mega Millions, Jan. 13: Won in Maine
- $1.337 billion, Mega Millions, July 29, 2022: Won in Illinois.
- $1.05 billion, Mega Millions, Jan. 22, 2021: Won in Michigan.
- $768.4 million, Powerball, March 27, 2019: Won in Wisconsin.
- $758.7 million, Powerball, Aug. 23, 2017: Won in Massachusetts.
- $730 million, Powerball, Jan. 20, 2021: Won in Maryland.
- $699.8 million, Powerball, Oct. 4, 2021: Won in California.
Contributing: The Associated Press
