US Lottery Mega Millions This Week Worth 1.3 Trillion Won
Last Year, a Winner Claimed 2 Trillion Won After 4 Months
The 'Mega Millions,' considered one of the two major lotteries in the U.S. alongside 'Powerball,' has seen its jackpot swell to approximately 1.3 trillion won this week.
On the 21st (local time), foreign media such as the AP and CNN reported that the Mega Millions jackpot for the drawing on the 22nd reached $977 million (about 1.2922 trillion won). This is the 10th largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history. The reason the jackpot has grown so large is that there has been no first-place winner for over three months since December 8 last year.
To win the Mega Millions jackpot, players must match five numbers between 1 and 70 and one number between 1 and 25. The theoretical odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 302.6 million, which is even lower than the Powerball odds of 1 in 292.2 million.
The Mega Millions jackpot can be received either as an annuity paid out over 29 years or as a lump sum cash payment at half the advertised jackpot amount. The AP explained that because of this, the actual amount the winner receives may be less than expected. If the winner chooses the lump sum option, the jackpot is reduced by half ($461 million, about 610 billion won), and most lottery winners reportedly opt for the lump sum. Additionally, U.S. tax law requires 24% federal tax withholding on lottery winnings, plus state income taxes. If there are multiple first-place winners, the jackpot is divided among them. For example, in January 2016, three Powerball winners split $1.586 billion (about 2.0973 trillion won).
Last August, the first prize amount of the 'Mega Millions' lottery was displayed at a store in New York, USA. [Photo by Reuters Yonhap News]
Last year, the Mega Millions lottery also went nearly four months without a winner, accumulating the largest jackpot in history exceeding 2 trillion won. On August 8 last year, a lottery ticket buyer in Florida won the Mega Millions record jackpot of $1.58 billion (about 2.08 trillion won). At that time, no winner had been drawn for over three months since April 18 in New York. The exact location in Florida where the ticket was sold and the identity of the winner were not disclosed.
The largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history was $2.04 billion (about 2.7 trillion won) from a Powerball ticket sold in California in November 2022.
Meanwhile, 1.3 trillion won is an amount that could instantly place the winner within the top 30 richest people domestically. According to Forbes' list of 'Korea's Wealthiest in 2023,' individuals with assets around $1 billion (1.331 trillion won, based on the exchange rate on March 22) rank within the top 30.
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