- The Illinois Lottery has paid out $1.34 billion in Mega Millions.
- This is the third largest lottery prize in the country in history.
CHICAGO – Right outside of Chicago in Des Plaines, Illinois, history was made at a Speedway gas station as they sold the third largest lottery prize in history from the Illinois Mega Millions lottery game. Two winners that agree to split the grand prize have stepped forward to claim their record-breaking $1.34 billion prize.
The two winners that have claimed this historical prize have opted to take the lump sum of the winnings which comes out to $780.5 million. This still leaves each contestant with a whopping $390.2 million in winnings.
The winning numbers that they cashes on were 13, 36, 45, 57, and 67. The Mega Ball number that brought them home was 14.
As a reward for selling the winning lottery ticket, the legal gambling retailer, which is the corporate Speedway gas station on 885 E. Touhy Ave, will receive $500,000.
“These winners are now in the enviable position of deciding what to do with their newfound fortune—They stopped into the Speedway in Des Plaines and grabbed a Mega Millions
ticket while they were there. That turned out to be an absolutely life-changing decision when a $3 line of Mega Millions with Megaplier turned into a $1.34 billion jackpot win,” said the director of the Illinois Lotter, Harold Mays.“It’s a surreal feeling giving away this amount of money and knowing what a huge impact this is going to make on the winners’ lives, and for others close to them as well. It was an incredible feeling just to be part of that process – so I can only imagine how the winners themselves are feeling,” said Luis Rodriguez, Illinois Lottery Claims Manager.
The two winners that came forward to claim their prize money did elect to remain anonymous which is fully in their right. In Illinois, lottery winners claiming $250,000 or more have the option to remain anonymous.