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| A billboard in downtown St. Louis indicates the Mega Millions Lottery is now up to $1.6 billion on Tuesday. Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI |
By Daniel Uria, UPI
The winning numbers for the Mega Millions national lottery game were drawn Wednesday night as the jackpot reached a record $1.6 billion.
The numbers were 5-28-62-65-70 with a Mega Ball of 5 and a 3x Megaplier, with a chance at the at a jackpot which surpassed the largest U.S. payout, previously set at $1.59 billion in a Powerball jackpot in January 2016.
"Mega Millions has already entered historic territory, but it's truly astounding to think that now the jackpot has reached an all-time world record," Gordon Medenica, lead director of the Mega Millions Group, said. "It's hard to overstate how exciting this is -- but now it's really getting fun
The $1.6 billion would yield a $913 million cash prize before taxes if the winner selects a one-time lump sum over annual payouts over 30 years.
In order to earn a chance at the historic prize, players purchase tickets for $2 and must match all five numbers plus the Mega Ball to win the jackpot. The odds of winning are 1 in 302.6 million.
Drawings are held every Tuesday and Friday, with the next drawing scheduled for Friday, Oct. 26. If no winner is selected in Tuesday's drawing, the jackpot will increase to $2 billion for Friday's drawing.
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