A ticket from the US Mega Millions lottery won a jackpot of US$800 million for its buyer in Texas on Tuesday evening, ending a streak of more than 20 drawings without a winner.
It is the seventh largest jackpot won in lottery history, surpassing the $656 million jackpot sold in 2012, thanks to three tickets purchased in Illinois, Kansas and Maryland, according to the New York Post.
The winning numbers were 1, 2, 16, 24 and 66 and the golden Mega Ball 6, according to the results reported by the American newspaper which specifies that the chances of winning the Mega Millions are astronomical at one in more than 302 million.
The lucky winner will therefore be able to claim US$800 million in annual winnings or choose a single payment of nearly US$404.2 million, part of which would then be taken from taxes, according to estimates from the American lottery.
The biggest Mega Millions jackpot ever worth $1.62 billion was sold at a Publix supermarket in Neptune Beach, Florida, in August 2023, the New York tabloid added.
