In Illinois, an online ticket won the $552 million Mega Millions lottery jackpot.
The victor has yet to step forward to obtain their award, said Meghan Powers from the Illinois Lottery to CNN on Wednesday. Tuesday night's reward amounted to $552 million, with the money option standing at $260 million, based on data from Mega Millions.
The winning numbers consisted of 19, 37, 40, 63, 69, and a golden Mega Ball 17.
In Illinois, over 7,000 different vendors provide Illinois Lottery tickets, Powers informed CNN. However, this time around, the lucky winner acquired theirs through the online approach rather than purchasing from a physical location, according to Powers.
This state was the pioneer in offering online lottery ticket sales in 2012. Almost a quarter of tickets purchased for Tuesday night's drawing were bought this way, said Powers.
The jackpot has remained unclaimed since March 26, when a New Jersey customer sensationally grabbed the $1.1 billion jackpot in Neptune, New Jersey. This total represents the fifth-largest jackpot in Mega Millions history.
Ticket sales start at $2 and can be accessed in 45 states, Washington, DC, and the US Virgin Islands. In most places, players have the option to add a Megaplier to their ticket for an extra dollar, increasing non-jackpot awards two to five times based on the ball drawn from a pool of 15.
The chances of winning the jackpot are 1 in over 302 million, according to their website. The next Mega Millions draw takes place Friday at 11 pm with an estimated prize of $20 million and a cash option of $9.4 million.
Mega Millions enjoyed a billion-dollar windfall in October 2018 when a woman in South Carolina secured a stunning $1.537 billion win, marking the highest-ever Mega Millions jackpot. However, this record was broken in August 2023 by yet another Floridian who snatched $1.6 billion.
The all-time largest lottery prize belongs to the $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot in California, won in November 2022, and it has yet to be bettered since.
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The lucky winner of the $552 million Mega Millions jackpot decided to purchase their ticket online, which is a relatively new option provided by over 7,000 vendors in Illinois. Despite the jackpot remaining unclaimed since March, US residents continue to participate, with a significant number of tickets purchased online.
