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Someone has finally won the Mega Millions jackpot – on a Friday the 13th, no less.
A lucky ticket sold in Maine matched the winning numbers for the lottery game’s estimated $1.35 billion grand prize.
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.
