Mega Millions jackpot lottery winner secures $800m payout

A Mega Millions jackpot lottery winner has just secured the $800m payday from the popular lottery game. The player, still unidentified, has the option to claim the gargantuan sum in annual installments

Who won the Mega Millions jackpot?

Nobody knows just yet. Another thing to note here is that the Mega Millions lottery in Texas allows you to remain anonymous. In other words, other than finding out the location of the ticket sale and the state, the identity of the person who bagged the eye-watering sum may never be known.

The winning ticket was purchased at Murphy USA 8488 gas station on Highway 90A in Sugar Land, Texas, based on a statement by the lottery. This is particularly good news for the gas station, as it would also get $1m from the sale of the winning ticket as well.

The still anonymous person won with the numbers 1, 2, 16, 24, 66 and Mega Ball Number 6. The player has virtually ended up the dry spell for the Mega Millions after 20 drawings that produced no jackpot winner.

As to the Lone Star State’s relationship with the Mega Millions in general, Texas has been definitely one of the places to buy a ticket and expect a big return. The state has sold at least 15-time big-time jackpots since the game launched locally.

The latest one was won on October 6, 2023, with the Blue Yucca Trust winning a total of $361m.

What is the Mega Millions jackpot today?

As you can expect, the Mega Millions jackpot has been reset and it will start accumulating from $20m because of Tuesday’s win. The player who won this week will have the option to get annual payouts to reduce the tax they have to pay, or opt for a flat cashout which will reduce the jackpot to $404.2m instead.

The Mega Millions jackpot winner is the third one this year, with two other prizes grabbed on March 26 and June 4, when players won $1.13bn and $552m respectively. With the next draw due on Friday, September 13, the buzz around the game will die out for a while as the jackpot builds up again.

Image credit: Mega Millions