A Florida resident is the sole lucky winner of the massive Mega Millions jackpot that was decided on Friday night. The $450 million dollar prize is the fourth-largest in Mega Millions history according to CBS News and stands as the tenth largest across the entire U.S. lottery. The winning numbers were 28, 30, 39, 59, 70, with the gold Mega Ball dropping at 10. As usual, the winner can choose the annuity or opt for the cash at $281 million, which is still a pretty penny as the sole winner.
No CA jackpot but we sold a 5/6 prize in Daly City. Still waiting to find out the prize amount and if any other state sold the jackpot. Stay tuned.
— California Lottery (@calottery) January 6, 2018
There were also eight Match 5 winners from across the country, with California, Massachusetts, Tennessee and Virginia all holding a single winner, while Oklahoma and Texas featured two apiece for a prize of $1 million. In total, the Mega Millions drawing for Friday saw 21 million tickets sold according to CBS News.
Meanwhile, the Powerball jackpot continues to rise ahead of its drawing on Saturday night. It currently sits at $570 million and would be the eighth largest lottery prize in U.S. history. This pales to the record $1.586 billion prize that was won one year ago and split by winners in California, Florida, and Tennessee.
According to ABC News, if the same person were to somehow win both jackpots, their total winnings would be $1.02 billion before taxes and the lump sum. Obviously, the chances of this happening are even slimmer than winning the lottery itself, but those big numbers do fill people up with wild ideas.
According to CBS News, the average American spends $200 on lottery tickets per year with some states varying from $400 a year in New York to heights of $735 a year in Massachusetts. Considering the nightmare stories you hear from winners, it almost seems smarter to just put that cash away for safe keeping.