Winner confirmed for record-breaking $1.58 billion Mega Millions jackpot
Mega Millions has revealed that someone has won an estimated $1.58 billion jackpot.
Mega Millions has revealed that someone has won a jackpot worth an estimated $1.58 billion.
Yes, you read that right, someone is about to soar to billionaire status after winning the Mega Millions draw yesterday (Tuesday, 7 August).
The lottery ticket buyer, who's set to join the likes of Elon Musk, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg, is reportedly from Florida.
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The Mega Millions drawing was held at 11:00pm ET.
"Five white balls are drawn from a set of balls numbered 1 through 70; one gold Mega Ball is drawn from a set of balls numbered one through 25.
"You win if the numbers on one row of your ticket match the numbers of the balls drawn on that date," it explains on its website.
The winning numbers of the massive Megaplier two-time jackpot revealed last night were: "13, 19, 20, 32, 33 and 14'.
According to Mega Millions, there are 'nine ways to win a prize' and you can win 'from $2 (£1.50) to the jackpot'.
And the Florida winner really defied the odds, with the 'overall chances of winning a prize one in 24' and the odds of winning the jackpot about one in 302.58 million, CBS News reports.
While the ticket holder has indeed won an estimated $1.58 billion (£1.24 billion), they also have the option of taking $783.3 million (£615.25 million).
This may sound like they're being mugged off, but there's a reason behind it.
If they choose to accept the $1.58 billion, the winner will receive an immediate payment, but then be given the sum - minus taxes - spread across 29 yearly payments which increase each year.
However, if the ticket holder wants all their winnings at once, they can opt to receive $783.3 million as a lump cash sum.
The jackpot has been growing since the last person won in April and the win is reportedly the third biggest in US lottery history, according to CBS News.
And people have flooded to social media in shock over the extraordinary win.
One YouTube user said: "That was a fun week of fantasizing."
"Welp. I saw those numbers and I knew there was gonna be a winner. Too bad it ain’t me. Congrats to the lucky person in Florida. Lay low for a while," another added.
A third commented: "Damn didn’t think someone was gonna win, i thought it was gonna go over $2 billion lol, kinda upset I didn’t win and still have to work but at least I don’t have to spend my entire two paychecks on the next drawing, I guess I’ll focus on powerball now and play only $10 for the next mega draw."
And a fourth, while not taking home the full jackpot, still won something, saying: "Yay I won! ... $2 bucks."
Topics: Money, US News, Film and TV
Poppy Bilderbeck