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Oct. 24, 2018 / 3:12 AM GMT
By Minyvonne Burke
The winning numbers in the $1.6 billion Mega Millions jackpot prize, the largest lottery draw in U.S. history, were 5, 28, 62, 65, and 70, with a Mega Ball of 5, lottery officials announced Tuesday night.
If there’s a single winner, he or she has the option to take a cash sum of $904 million or an annuity, walking away with an initial payment followed by annual installments over 29 years.
Tuesday’s jackpot is the largest prize in U.S. lottery history, just above a $1.58 billion Powerball drawing in 2016. Three people from Tennessee, Florida and California won.
The last time there has been a Mega Millions winner was July 24, when an office pool of 11 people in California divided the $543 million prize.
The odds of winning the jackpot were very slim — 1 in 302.5 million to be exact. But that didn’t stop people from playing. About 280 million tickets were sold in last Friday’s drawing, The Associated Press reported, and by Tuesday night, tickets in California were selling at the rate of 200 a second.