ATLANTA — After months without a Mega Millions jackpot winner, someone won the big prize in Friday night's drawing.
The winning numbers for the $1.337 billion prize — up from an estimated 1.28 billion due to ticket sales — were 13-36-45-57-67, Mega Ball 14 and Megaplier 2. The cash option was $780.5 million.
The Mega Millions website said not only did one ticket win the jackpot, 26 tickets matched the five white balls to win $1 million. Six of them included the Megaplier for $2 million.
The jackpot-winning ticket was sold in a Speedway gas station in Des Plaines, a suburb of Chicago. The 20 tickets winning $1 million were sold in California, Florida (2), Georgia (2), Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota (2), North Carolina (2), New Hampshire, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas (2) and Wisconsin.
Three of the $2 million winners were in Florida. The others were in Arkansas, Iowa and Pennsylvania.
The last time someone won the Mega Millions jackpot was April 15. Nearly 30 consecutive drawings without a winner grew it to almost record-breaking heights.
Hours before the drawing, the jackpot prize skyrocketed to $1.28 billion, the second largest jackpot in the game's history and the third-largest prize of any in the U.S.
Odds for winning the Mega Millions jackpot are slim but not impossible — a staggering one in 302.5 million. Although some doubled and tripled their tries, the chances remained low.
In the chance that someone does match all six numbers, the winner would have the option for an annuity option, which is paid out in 30 annual payments. Most players choose the cash option.
Focus on Mega Millions grew exponentially as the prize neared the billion dollar mark. A founder of a fast food chain even purchased 50,000 Mega Millions tickets for the second time this week in a bid to be the lucky winner.
There have been 40 other Mega Million jackpot winners since 2016, scattered through 22 states. California is the state with the most jackpot winners within the last six years.
The next Mega Millions drawing is on Tuesday, August 2 at 11 p.m. ET.
What are the 10 largest US lottery jackpots ever won?
1. $1.586 billion, Powerball, Jan. 13, 2016 (three tickets, from California, Florida, Tennessee)
2. $1.537 billion, Mega Millions, Oct. 23, 2018 (one ticket, from South Carolina)
3. $1.05 billion, Mega Millions, Jan. 22, 2021 (one ticket, from Michigan)
4. $768.4 million, Powerball, March 27, 2019 (one ticket, from Wisconsin)
5. $758.7 million, Powerball, Aug. 23, 2017 (one ticket, from Massachusetts)
6. $731.1 million, Powerball, Jan. 20, 2021 (one ticket, from Maryland)
7. $699.8 million, Powerball, Oct. 4, 2021 (one ticket, from California)
8. $687.8 million, Powerball, Oct. 27, 2018 (two tickets, from Iowa and New York)
9. $656 million, Mega Millions, March 30, 2012 (three tickets, from Kansas, Illinois and Maryland)
10. $648 million, Mega Millions, Dec. 17, 2013 (two tickets, from California and Georgia)
Mega Millions is played on Tuesdays and Fridays in 45 states as well as Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.