Search for mystery winner of $2.25 billion lottery jackpot
A lucky lotto winner is about to be $2.25 billion richer after matching all six numbers in Tuesday night’s draw – they just don’t know it yet.
The world’s largest ever lottery grand prize came from a Mega Millions ticket purchased in a tiny town in the US state of South Carolina, with the jackpot smashing the lottery’s former record of $928,000 set in March 2012.
The winning ticket was sold at a convenience store in the rural town of Simpsonville, with a population 22,000.
The record jackpot had set off a lottery frenzy across America, with people lining up at convenience stores, supermarkets and liquor stores to buy a $2 ticket that gave them a roughly one in 300 million chance of winning.
The winner can take $913 million in a lump sum cash payment or the whole pile in annuities over 29 years.
Mega Millions Group’s Gordon Medenica described the life-changing win as a “truly a historic occasion”
“The moment we’ve been waiting for finally arrived, and we couldn’t be more excited,” he said in a statement.
The jackpot had been rolling since a $768 million prize went off on July 24, won by a California office syndicate of 11 co-workers.
The winning numbers for October 23 are the white balls 5, 28, 62, 65 and 70, plus the gold Mega Ball 5.
