Illinois Individual Lottery Winner Hit The $1.34B Mega Millions Jackpot

A very lucky winner has been declared the winner of the Mega Millions jackpot, which sums up to $1.34 billion. The lottery was identified as the one sold at the speedy Cafe Speedway in Des Plaines, Illinois.

The director of the Illinois Lottery, Harold Mays, spoke at a press conference on Saturday, “We have not heard from the winner yet.”

According to officials, this win marks the number as US’s third largest jackpot ever, but it’s still waiting to be brought home. Mays added, “We don’t know whether or not they’re aware they’ve won a prize. So I encourage everyone to check your ticket.”

The winning numbers last Friday were 67, 45, 57, 36, and 13. And the lucky Mega Millions number was 14. For the next 12 months, the winner has a chance to claim their jackpot and whether they want to cash out everything or go for an annual payment over 29 years.

The interest in the lottery was huge as the reward went up by $60 million the night before the result was announced on Friday. Aside from the $1.34 billion reward, another winner got their ticket from New Way Deli & Lottery Corp. in the Bronx and brought home $1,000,002.

A worker who works at the deli exclaimed, “We feel lucky! It’s the second time. It’s a beautiful thing. Lightning usually doesn’t strike in the same spot. Hopefully, next time it’ll be the big one.”

Five years ago, a ticket that won $1 million was sold at the same deli.

Daisy Braxton, a regular lottery ticket player, shared, “It wasn’t me, and I play here all the time.”

If the winner chooses a lump sum, they’ll bring home $780 million excluding taxes, with the $500,000 granted to the gas station that sold the winning ticket as a “selling bonus.”

The biggest jackpot was recorded on January 13, 2016, in the Powerball Lottery, where winners from California, Florida, and Tennessee, won $1.586 billion. The second was only $50k short, won by an unknown winner on October 23, 2018, for a total of $1.537 billion.