The long streak of the Mega Millions draw without a winner has resulted in Friday’s payout exceeding $1.28 Billion (R21,1 Billion) being scooped by a lucky Illinois, Chicago resident.
The holder of the winning ticket spent $2 (R32,98) on the ticket and matched all six numbers.
The winning numbers for Friday night's draw were: 13-36-45-57-67, with a Mega Ball of 14. The odds of winning the jackpot is 1 in 302 Million.
"Congratulations to the Illinois Lottery for selling the winning ticket for the $1.28 Billion Mega Millions jackpot," Ohio Lottery Director, Pat McDonald said in a statement.
"We're eager to find out who won and look forward to congratulating the winner soon!" The winner is yet to come forward and claim their winnings. However, in the state of Illinois, a winner can choose to remain anonymous.
It is the second largest jackpot in the 20-year history of the game topped only by the $1,537,000,000 (over R24,7 Billion) won in South Carolina in October 2018.
The winner can either claim the $1,28 Billion (over R21,1 Billion) prize in the annuity option which spreads over 30 annual payments or the whole lump sum. Nearly all jackpot winners choose the lump sum option.
The lump sum will drop to $433 Million (R7,3 Billion) after tax deductions. On a lighter note, the winner has an option to cash out the whole amount or choose 29 annual payments. Each payment is 5% bigger than the previous one.
Moreover, half of the proceeds from the sale of each Mega Millions ticket remain in the state where the ticket was purchased. The proceeds from the winnings go towards education, public employee pensions and retail commissions.
"This exciting jackpot run has had a significant positive impact on the revenues for good causes raised by our member lotteries”, said Ohio lottery chief McDonald, who is the lead director for the Mega Millions Consortium.
LottoStar’s Mega Millions draw takes place every Tuesday and Friday, at 11:30 pm, which is 5:30 am on Wednesday and Saturday in South Africa. Place your bets for a chance to become a multi-millionaire.