Mega Millions Winner: Illinois Man Won $260 Million [Video]
The winning numbers of the Mega Millions revealed one winner of the $260 million dollar jackpot on June 2. While millions of people waited to find out whether they won the large jackpot, it was one man.
A man in Blue Island, Illinois was the big winner of the $260 million prize. The winning ticket was sold at Supermercado Imelda, a supermarket at 13036 S. Western Av. in Blue Island. The ticket holder’s identity of the $260 million Mega Millions jackpot is yet unknown as he has yet to come forward.
“It’s fantastic; fantastic that we won,” Dolores Diaz, who manages the store, told CBS Chicago. The store that sells the winning ticket also gets $500,000 bonus. Until Wednesday, Diaz didn’t know she would get the bonus, but said she’ll use it to pay off bills. “That’s great. I didn’t know that.”
Although it was advertised as a Mega Millions $253 million prize, the winning amount hit a high of $260 million by the time the drawing took place at 10 p.m. due to all the lotto players hoping to cash in on the prize. If taken as a lump sum, the ticket holder will receive $158 million.
The winning numbers were 2, 9, 11, 22 and 23, with a Mega Ball 12, and the odds of winning a jackpot were 1 in 258,890,850. This was the third largest jackpot in the past 12 months, Mega Millions officials said.
Illinois ticket holders have been lucky in the Mega Millions this year, winning two of the four Mega Millions jackpots this year. According to The Chicago Tribune, in January, Jesus Davila, Jr, who resides in Napervillle, won a $265 million jackpot. He bought that ticket at a store in Glendale Heights, IL.
The winner of the $260 Mega Millions wasn’t the only one taking home a prize. In addition to the $260 million winner, 14 states had ticket holders who were able to match 5 numbers to take home $1 million each. Those states were California, Georgia, Kentucky, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York (2 winners), Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia (3 winners) and Washington, reports M Live.
The highest Mega Millions jackpot ever was $656 million, which was awarded in March 2012, although that prize was split between three different people. Mega Millions drawings take place each Tuesday and Friday evening, and hopefuls can buy an entry ticket for only $1.
As previously reported by the Inquisitr, lottery players flocked to their phones to watch the drawing of the $260 million Mega Million jackpot online, using the LotteryHub app for iPhone or Android.
[Image Credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images]
