The Jackpot of a Whopping 1.8 Trillion Won... US Lottery 'Jackpot' Accumulated Over Three Months Hits

Mega Millions Lottery Winner Announced
Winner's Identity Not Disclosed

A winner has emerged in the US Mega Millions lottery drawing, where the first prize had soared to $1.22 billion (approximately 1.8 trillion KRW) after more than three months without a jackpot winner.

On the 27th (local time), foreign media including the AP reported that a first prize winner was decided in the Mega Millions drawing, one of the representative lotteries in the US. However, the identity of the winner has not yet been disclosed. The Mega Millions jackpot had not been won for over three months since it reached $810 million (1.18 trillion KRW) in Texas on September 10, causing the prize money to accumulate. This astronomical jackpot attracted a large number of lottery buyers aiming for the huge prize, which further increased the jackpot amount.

The scene of a Mega Millions lottery ticket sales outlet. Photo by AFP Yonhap News

Mega Millions is a lottery where players select 5 numbers from 1 to 70 and then choose one Mega Ball number from 1 to 25. The price of this lottery is $2 (2,900 KRW) per game, and the odds of hitting the jackpot are 1 in 302,575,350. This is significantly lower than the odds of winning first prize in the Korean Lotto, which are 1 in 8,145,060. The lottery is sold in 45 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, with drawings held twice a week. Winners can choose between receiving the full prize amount paid out as an annuity over 29 years or a lump sum payment of $549.7 million (approximately 811.4 billion KRW) before taxes. Most winners are known to opt for the lump sum payment.

This Mega Millions jackpot is the 7th largest in the history of the lottery and the largest December jackpot ever. Since Mega Millions began sales in 2002, this is the 14th jackpot in December. Mega Millions has held drawings on Christmas Day six times in total, but a Christmas Day jackpot has never been won. There was one jackpot on Christmas Eve in 2002, but the prize was never claimed. The winner was identified as having purchased the ticket in New York State, but did not claim the prize. The reason for not claiming the prize is presumed to be due to loss or forgetfulness of the ticket.

The largest Mega Millions jackpot ever was $1.6 billion (approximately 2.3616 trillion KRW), won in Florida last August. Additionally, the Powerball lottery, which along with Mega Millions forms the two major pillars of the US lottery market, had a jackpot of $2.04 billion (approximately 3 trillion KRW) in 2022.