Two Winners Split $494 Million Mega Millions Jackpot
Monday October 17th 2022After two and a half months without a jackpot winner, two came along in the same drawing on Friday night as a grand prize of $494 million was split between ticket holders in Florida and California.
The jackpot had most recently been won on Friday July 29th, when a partnership from Illinois landed $1.3 billion to become the second-biggest Mega Millions winners in history.
It had started to accelerate quickly, until two players matched all the numbers - 9, 22, 26, 41 and 44, plus Mega Ball 19 - on Friday October 14th. There were also more than 1 million other prizes paid out on a memorable night.
One of the winning tickets was sold in Fort Myers, Florida, weeks after Hurricane Ian devastated the area. The other was sold at a 7-Eleven convenience store in San Jose, California.
The share for each winner is worth $247 million. The winners will have to decide whether to take that as an annuity when they come forward, or accept a cash lump sum.
The Florida winner has 180 days to claim, while there is a deadline of one year in California.
It ranks as the 11th-biggest jackpot of all time. It is the first time in five years that the grand prize has been shared.
The largest Mega Millions jackpot ever remains the $1.537 billion that went to a single player from South Carolina in October 2018. The winner chose to remain anonymous.
Powerball Hits $480 Million
The Mega Millions and Powerball jackpots had been growing side-by-side over the past few weeks. While Mega Millions has now been won and dropped back down to $20 million, the grand prize for Powerball has hit $480 million.
One more drawing will see the jackpot reach the half-a-billion mark and generate even more excitement across the participating states and jurisdictions.
Powerball draws take place every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, giving players three chances a week to take part.
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