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Lucky Winner From Michigan Scoops $1 Billion Mega Millions Lottery Win

Lucky Winner From Michigan Scoops $1 Billion Mega Millions Lottery Win

Not a bad start to their weekend

Tom Wood

Tom Wood

Someone in the US state of Michigan has won a gigantic $1 billion (£730 million) lottery jackpot, the third largest amount that has ever been won in the USA.

That's not a bad way to start the weekend off, is it?

Friday's Mega Millions draw was - according the organisers - one of the biggest prizes ever offered in a lottery, and some lucky person has scooped the whole amount.

That means that some stands to become a billionaire overnight, all for the price of one measly lottery ticket.

Imagine that.

PA

Well, they won't quite become a billionaire, as there is still tax to be taken from the final amount, but they'll have enough money to last forever, so long as they don't completely squander the sum.

There's only one ticket that matched all six numbers necessary to take the grand prize. Those numbers were 4, 26, 42, 50, 60, and 24.

The odds of winning were astronomical, too. One in 302,575,350 if we're being precise about it.

Whilst the winner has yet to come forward, once they're identified they'll have a serious dilemma choosing how they'd like to receive their cash.

After tax, the total amount won will add up to a pay-out of $739.6 million (£540.6 million), which they can choose to receive as one lump sum, or over a longer term payment plan.

Either way, their working days are over.

This is the third largest jackpot that has been offered in the United State since 2016.

The record Powerball jackpot was $1.586 billion (£1.16 billion) that was split between three people from Tennessee, Florida, and California. All three correctly picked out every single one of the numbers, so the money was shared.

PA

The biggest ever single winner scooped a jackpot of $1.537 billion (£1.12 billion) back in late 2018.

Not bad, given that it's only a few dollars to enter the draw. It's worth remembering those vast odds, though.

It's not exactly a viable get-rich-quick scheme, unless you're a fortune teller or incredibly fortunate.

The jackpot has been growing gradually since September, when it was reset to just - seriously, just? - $20 million (£14.6 million) after a $120 million (£87.7 million) winner.

The amount has been steadily growing, but not as quickly as it usually would as less people have been playing as a result of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

It's available to players in 45 of the 50 US States, as well as in the District of Columbia - where the capital Washington DC is situated - and the US Virgin Islands.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Money, US News