Americans are looking for Georgians who hold ticket numbers 1, 8, 11, 12, 57 and Mega Ball 7, and could pocket nearly a billion dollars.
If he hasn’t lost his ticket, he should move forward immediately. An American won the famous Mega Millions lottery jackpot during the drawing that took place this Friday, November 14, it reported on its website. In Newnan, a city in Georgia located 60 km from Atlanta, the winning ticket was purchased.
The lucky winner marked six numbers correctly: 1, 8, 11, 12, 57 and the “Mega Ball” 7. This allowed him to win the eighth largest prize ever played by a lottery, namely 980 million dollars, which is equivalent to about 845 million euros. A nice change after buying a ticket for 5 dollars, or 4.30 euros.
Two methods of paying the amount
However, this huge amount will not be immediately pocketed by the winner. The winner has a choice between two prize methods: a one-time payment, called a “cash value”, of $452.2 million (390 million euros), or an annuity payment over 30 years.
This allows him to receive a sum of money each year (increasing by 5% each time) that will eventually total $980 million. Thus, he will be able to receive 14.7 million dollars immediately, then 15.4 million dollars next year, and so on, until 2054, when 60 million dollars will be paid to him for his final annuity.
The winner is still unknown
We don’t yet know the identities of people who are moving towards a more financially comfortable life. Persons who purchase and validate these tickets, as defined by law in Georgia, have 180 days from the drawing to contact lottery services. This gives him until mid-May to report and pocket his winnings, but there is no doubt that he wants to do it as soon as possible. This is the largest amount ever won in an American state, whose record to date is a jackpot of 478.2 million.
Mega Millions is one of the two most popular lotteries in the United States along with Powerball. Prizes for winners have several times exceeded one billion dollars each. The amount of 1.15 billion dollars was wagered in December 2024 by Mega Millions and was won by a California resident.
