Willy Wonka has nothing on this golden ticket. Someone in South Carolina, who picked the numbers 5-28-62-65-70, with a Mega Ball #5, has just beaten the odds, and won $1.537 billion. Last night, a South Carolinian (or someone visiting the Palmetto state) beat the odds (one in 302,575,350) and won the second largest Mega Millions jackpot in U.S. lottery history.
The winner has not claimed the prize as of yet, and it could be weeks or months until he/she does. If they’re intelligent, they will do all they can to protect their anonymity.
Yes, lottery fever is sweeping the country right now. You have the near record Mega Millions jackpot, a Powerball drawing worth $620 million happening tonight and two Michiganders who woke up today as newly minted millionaires. Yes, two players, who may or may not have used the Michigan Lottery promo code, matched the five white balls – 05-28-62-65-70 – in the Michigan Lottery’s Mega Millions game on Tuesday night, each winning a $1 million prize.
The winning tickets were sold at a Brick’s in Grandville and a Ric’s Food Center in Mount Pleasant. Additionally, 13 players matched four of the five white balls drawn, plus the Mega Ball (05) to win a $10,000 prize. Congratulations to all of them, but of course the real stories relate to the massive Powerball jackpot tonight and the Mega Millions winner in Carolina who can claim a prize that fell just short of the world record ($1.6 billion, won in California in 2016). Both jackpots have seen astronomical growth over the course of the past few weeks and months because no one had won them.
That’s by design as both Mega Millions and Powerball changed the game to make the odds of winning harder. It’s not just that you’re more likely to be struck by lightning than win the lottery, it’s that your MUCH more likely to be struck by lightning than strike the jackpot.
However, the bigger the kitty, the more people play and now we’re seeing even the casual players join in on the craze. Most tickets are sold on the day of the actual drawing itself. Well, someone out there has defied the odds, and if you happen to read this- lucky you.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, is currently a regular contributor to SB Nation, WGN CLTV and Chicago Now.
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