2021 seems to be a very promising year for lottery players as the Mega Millions already offered one of the most valuable lottery jackpots ever awarded, in January!
Indeed, a lucky player from Michigan scooped no less than $1.05 Billion after tickets sales boomed on January 22, 2021.
So, how do you win a $1 Billion Mega Millions jackpot?
First, you have a chance in 302,575,350 to scoop a Mega Millions jackpot. Then, to reach such heights, the jackpot needs to rollover quite a few times before it is won.
When the yet-to-be identified winner scooped this historic $1 Billion Mega Millions jackpot, it had rolled over for 37 times! This is what made this prize the third largest lottery jackpot, in the world, since 2016!
The winning numbers for January 22’s draw were: 4, 26, 42, 50, 60, and 24. The lucky winner will now have to choose between annual payments or a lump-sum payout worth $739.6 Million before taxes.
This is quite amazing since both Powerball and Mega Millions announced changes just few months previously. These changes included a lower starting jackpot and smaller rollover increases; therefore no one expected a new record jackpot any time soon. Strong sales proved us wrong and gave a perfect start to a very interesting new year!
Is this the highest jackpot Mega Millions has ever awarded?
No. This is Mega Millions’ second largest jackpot ever awarded.
On October 23, 2018, a player made history after winning Mega Millions highest jackpot ever, worth $1.537 Billion! It was the biggest jackpot ever scooped by a single player! The lucky winner bought the ticket in South Carolina.
US Powerball is the only lottery to beat the Mega Millions record jackpots. Powerball’s record stands at $1.58 Billion! However, unlike Mega Millions’ record jackpot, this amount was shared between 3 winning tickets.
Do players from Michigan often win Mega Millions jackpots?
The $1 Billion Mega Millions jackpot was scooped by a player from Michigan. However, he isn’t the only lucky player from Michigan to have won a Mega Millions big jackpot. Overall, 18 Mega Millions top prizes were scooped by Michigan residents.
The previous record holder for the state, David Lawson won an amazing $337 Million prize at US Powerball on August 15, 2012.
Ralph & Mary Stebbins were the previous biggest Mega Millions winners of Michigan after scooping $208 Million on April 22, 2005.
So, who is the lucky winner of the $1 Billion Mega Millions jackpot?
The $1 Billion winners’ identity has not been and will probably never be revealed. Although players from Michigan do not have an anonymity option, the four ticket holders decided to come forward as a club.
We already knew that the winning Mega Millions ticket was bought at a Kroger in Novi, a northern suburb of Detroit. It has been rumored on social media that a group of teachers actually bought the $1 Billion record jackpot winning ticket. But, these rumors were shut down by the Novi Woods Elementary School principal, David Ascher soon after the draw. The Michigan Lottery officials did not confirm these rumors either.
On March 12th, several weeks after the lucky draw took place, the four members of the Wolverine FLL Club came forward and claimed their prize via an attorney. They chose the lump sum option, which will bring them a down payment of $557 million, after taxes. Had they taken the annuity option, the total amount would have stood at $776 million.
How will this jackpot change the lives of the four club members? Time will tell it all, but this doesn’t mean you can’t try your own luck: get a Mega Millions ticket now and get a chance to join Mega Millions’ Hall of Fame!
