The Mega Millions draw of July 29, 2022 saw a single ticket win a record jackpot of $1.337 BILLION. The nation’s third-largest lottery prize was a result of 29 consecutive draws without a jackpot winner. Lottery officials had initially estimated the winning take at $1.28 Billion, but the number was revised up to $1.337 Billion few hours after the draw took place. This jackpot is the second largest jackpot in the Mega Millions 20-year history.
The winning Mega Millions ticket was purchased at a Speedway gas station and convenience store in Des Plaines, Illinois. The winning numbers were: 13-36-45-57-67 and the Mega Ball 14.
The Mega Millions winners has 12 months, from the date of the draw to claim their winnings but we only had to wait around 8 weeks before they came forward to claim their prize. They chose to remain anonymous and it was their right to do so as the Illinois Lottery allows winners to request anonymity if the prize is greater than $250,000. So, we know that this Mega Millions Syndicate was made of two players only that agreed they would share the prize if they would win. We also know that they chose the Cash option and, therefore, split the amazing amount of $780,5 Million in half!
Ohio’s Lottery Director & Lead Director for the Mega Millions Consortium, Pat McDonald, declared: “We are thrilled to have witnessed one of the biggest jackpot wins in Mega Millions history.”
These lucky players had the single winning ticket for the jackpot and became the biggest Mega Millions syndicate winners, but they were not the only ones to benefit from this historical draw. Indeed:
- There were 26 second-tier winners including 6 that had opted for the Megaplier. Adding the multiplier to their ticket has brought them $2 Million instead of $1 Million.
- Overall, there were 14,391,740 winning tickets!
There are also less obvious winners:
- The store that sold the ticket will receive half a million dollars for selling the winning ticket. An employee declared that the store had not been officially notified that it sold the winning ticket. Apparently, they learnt about it from reporters calling for comments.
- In Illinois, 23 cents of every dollar spent on the lottery goes to fund public education, infrastructure projects & special causes.
In conclusion: it isn’t just the lottery ticket holders who win big!