Record $1.58 billion Mega Millions jackpot won by one ticket sold in Florida
Written by ABC Audio ALL RIGHTS RESERVED on August 9, 2023
(NEW YORK) — A single ticket sold in Florida won the estimated $1.58 billion jackpot in Tuesday night’s Mega Millions drawing, a record high for the lottery and among the largest-ever U.S. drawings, the lottery said.
The winning ticket was purchased at a Publix Super Market on Atlantic Boulevard in Neptune Beach, Florida, local lottery officials said.
The winning numbers were 13, 19, 20. 32, 33 and gold Mega Ball 14. The cash payout option is estimated at $783.3 million, the lottery said.
“We congratulate our newest jackpot winner, as well as the more than 43.7 million winners at all prize levels throughout this jackpot run,” Georgia Lottery President and CEO Gretchen Corbin, lead director of the Mega Millions Consortium, said in a statement. “We also celebrate the funds generated for the many good causes supported by our participating lotteries.”
The drawing broke Mega Millions’ previous high of $1.537 billion, according to the lottery. A single ticket sold in South Carolina had won that prize in 2018.
The jackpot is larger than all but two other U.S. lottery drawings, a $1.586 billion Powerball in January 2016 and a $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot in November 2022.
The official jackpot size in Tuesday’s drawing wouldn’t be available until all final sales were recorded, the lottery said. Earlier in the week, officials had said that “at this level, jackpots are hard to predict with complete accuracy.”
There had been 31 drawings held since the Mega Millions jackpot was last won in New York on April 18, according to the lottery.
“It’s exciting to watch Mega Millions grow,” Corbin, lead director of the Mega Millions Consortium, in a a statement before the drawing.
She added, “As the jackpot climbs ever higher, we thank our players and retailers for their support, which benefits the many good causes funded by our participating lotteries.”
The previous four $1 billion Mega Million jackpots were won in 2018, 2021, 2022 and January 2023.
Mega Millions is played in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Tickets are $2 for one play.
Players must match all five numbers plus the Mega Ball number to claim the jackpot. The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 302,575,350.
The next drawing will take place Friday, Aug. 11, at 11 p.m. ET. The prize is estimated at $20 million, the lottery said.
ABC News’ Meredith Deliso and Victoria Arancio contributed to this story.
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