No Mega Millions Lottery Winner for 3 Months
The jackpot prize for the US Mega Millions lottery has soared to 1.7 trillion won after no winners emerged for over three months.
On the night of the Christmas Eve drawing, foreign media including US ABC News reported that there was no jackpot winner (matching all numbers for first prize) in the Mega Millions lottery. The Mega Millions jackpot has not been won since September 10 in Texas, when it reached $810 million (1.18 trillion won). As the prize money accumulated to an astronomical amount, many lottery buyers hoping to win the huge jackpot flocked, causing the prize amount to grow even larger.
The Mega Millions lottery costs $2 (2,900 won) per game, and the odds of hitting the jackpot are 1 in 302,575,350. This lottery is sold in 45 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands, with drawings held twice a week. If a jackpot winner emerges in the next drawing scheduled for the night of the 27th, the prize money the lucky winner will receive will reach $1.15 billion (1.68 trillion won). This is the seventh largest amount in Mega Millions history and the largest December jackpot ever. Mega Millions winners can choose between receiving the full prize amount paid out as an annuity over 29 years or a lump sum pre-tax payment of $516.1 million (752 billion won).
The Mega Millions lottery began sales in 2002, and there have been 13 jackpot wins in December so far. There have been six drawings held on Christmas Day, but a Christmas Day jackpot has never been won. Also, there was only one jackpot winner on Christmas Eve since 2002, but the prize was never claimed. The winner was identified as having purchased the ticket in New York State, but the prize was not claimed, presumably due to loss or forgetfulness of the ticket.
The largest Mega Millions jackpot ever was $1.6 billion (about 2.32 trillion won), won last year in Florida.
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