'Life-Changing Win' Mega Millions $1.6 Trillion Winner Emerges in the US

First Winner in 3 Months Since October Last Year
Lottery Jackpot, Second Largest in Mega Millions History

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] After three months without a winner, the first prize of the US Mega Millions lottery has finally been claimed, swelling to a staggering $1.35 billion (approximately 1.6 trillion KRW).

According to AP News and CNN on the 14th (local time), the lucky winner was determined in the drawing held on the night of the 13th, with the winning ticket sold in the Lebanon area of York County, Maine, in the northeastern United States. The identity of the first prize winner has not been disclosed, but the owner of the store that sold the lottery ticket revealed their name and face to the media.

Fred Cottreau, the owner of the lottery retailer in Lebanon, Maine, which produced the second-largest Mega Millions jackpot winner in U.S. history, is smiling broadly in front of his store.
[Photo by Reuters Yonhap News]

Mega Millions is one of the two major lotteries in the United States, alongside Powerball. Players select five numbers from 1 to 70, then choose one additional Mega Ball number from 1 to 25. The winning numbers for this draw were 30, 43, 45, 46, 61, and Mega Ball 14. There had been no first prize winner in Mega Millions for three months since last October, causing the jackpot to roll over and grow significantly. The odds of winning the first prize are approximately 1 in 300 million. In comparison, the odds of winning the first prize in South Korea’s Lotto are about 1 in 8.13 million.

This jackpot is the second largest in Mega Millions history. The largest was $1.53 billion (1.9 trillion KRW) in October 2018. Mega Millions first prize winners can choose to receive their winnings as an annuity over 29 years or as a lump sum, with the lump sum amount being nearly half of the annuity total. If the winner chooses the lump sum payment this time, the estimated amount would be $724.6 million (900 billion KRW). Mega Millions tickets can be purchased in 45 US states and the US Virgin Islands.

Meanwhile, the highest lottery jackpot in world history was won last November in California, USA. On November 8th last year, the California State Lottery Association announced that a single winner who purchased a Powerball ticket at a car repair shop in Altadena, California, claimed the entire $2.04 billion jackpot (approximately 2.8193 trillion KRW). The Powerball jackpot had grown due to 40 consecutive draws without a first prize winner at that time.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.