Mega Millions player wins stunning $800 million jackpot
The single ticketholder purchased the winning numbers at a gas station in Texas
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One lucky Texan won a stunning $800 million in the Mega Millions jackpot on Tuesday after buying a ticket at a gas station in Sugar Land.
Mega Millions drew the lucky numbers, 1, 2, 16, 24, and 66, along with the gold Mega Ball 6, on Tuesday evening, and the winner, who purchased the ticket at a Murphy Express, matched all six numbers in the lottery draw. The odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot are just 1 in 302.6 million,
State law gives anyone who wins more than $1 million in prizes in Texas the choice to remain anonymous, and so far, the identity of the latest Mega Millions winner has yet to be revealed.
The lottery draw is the seventh-largest prize to be won in the game’s history.
Now, the winner will have to decide whether to receive the full sum of $800 million — split across 30 annual installments — or a lump sum of $404.2 million.
Despite many other states enforcing taxes on lottery winnings, Texas prize money remains exempt.
The last Mega Millions win was in June when a lucky ticketholder claimed $552 million in Illinois. Earlier this year, lottery numbers for a $1.128 billion prize matched with a winning ticket but no one came forward to claim the cash.
Four other winners clinched the second-tierm $1 million prize in California, Florida, New York, and Washington.
The lottery company confirmed that 47 other tickets matched to a $40,000 prize and another 37 winners will take home $10,000 each.
The next jackpot will be drawn on September 13 at a reset value of $20 million or $10.1 million cash.
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