Washington. For one person in Georgia, America, this ticket became not just a hope but a life-changing reality. The Mega Millions lottery announced that a single ticket has won the jackpot of approximately $980 million (approximately Rs 87 billion). It is one of the eight largest jackpots in history. Mega Millions reported that this jackpot had been growing continuously since the last week of June. In Friday’s drawing, a ticket sold in Georgia matched all six numbers.
Mega Millions changed its format in April and increased the ticket price from $2 to $5. This will allow the jackpot to grow faster than ever before and the starting amount has also been increased from $20 million to $50 million. “The largest jackpot ever won since the Mega Millions game was revamped in April is $980 million,” said Joshua Johnson, lead director of the Mega Millions Consortium.
The numbers drawn in the draw were 1, 8, 11, 12 and 57, while the Gold Mega Ball was 7. The total prize is said to be approximately $980 million and the cash option is said to be $452.2 million. This is the biggest prize so far in the month of November. Also the eighth largest jackpot in Mega Millions history. Earlier such a big prize was won in December 2024, when a player from California won $1.269 billion. The lottery said there were 40 consecutive drawings after a $348 million jackpot was hit in Virginia on June 27. This was the longest jackpot run in Mega Millions history. During these draws, 1.43 crore winning tickets were drawn at different levels. Mega Millions also said that the prize value has increased significantly after the new rules of the game were implemented in April. Non-jackpot prizes alone reached approximately $343.4 million. This includes 21 second-tier prizes of $2 million or more, won in Arizona, California, Kentucky, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Texas, and Virginia.