One lucky Texan is worth a lot of money.
The Mega Millions lottery announced today that a winning ticket worth $800 million was sold at a gas station in Sugar Land. It’s the seventh highest jackpot in the game’s history; the player can take either a lump cash sum of about $404.2 million, or receive a larger sum over several years.
The winning numbers were white balls 1, 2, 16, 24 and 66, plus the gold Mega Ball 6. The player chose a Quick Pick ticket, where a computer picks the numbers. And that computer beat some long odds: the chances of winning the jackpot are 1 in 302,575,350.
It’s the 15th Mega Millions jackpot won in Texas since we joined the multi-state lotto in 2003. These days, you can play in most states except for Alaska, Hawaii, Alabama, Utah and Nevada.
The biggest Mega Millions jackpot ever was $1.6 billion and it was won last year in Florida. This is only the third Mega Millions jackpot this year. A New Jersey player won $1.1 billion in March, but, incredibly, no one has claimed the prize. And an Illinois player took home a paltry $552 million in June. (Just kidding, be our friend.)
The next drawing will be held Friday, and the jackpot is now reset to $20 million. Chump change!
