One winning ticket sold for $1bn Mega Millions lottery jackpot

One winning ticket was sold in Michigan for the $bn Mega Millions jackpot, the third-largest lottery prize in US history.

The winning numbers drawn on Friday were 4, 26, 42, 50, 60 and a Mega Ball of 24.

The top prize had been growing since 15 September, when a winning ticket was sold in Wisconsin. The lottery’s next estimated jackpot is $20m.

Friday night’s draw came two days after a ticket sold in Maryland won a $731.1m Powerball jackpot.

Only two lottery prizes in the US have been larger than Friday’s jackpot. Three tickets for a $1.586bn Powerball jackpot were sold in January 2016, and one winning ticket sold for a $1.537bn Mega Millions jackpot in October 2018.

The jackpot figures refer to amounts if a winner opts for an annuity, paid in 30 yearly installments. Most winners choose a cash prize, which for the Mega Millions jackpot is $739.6m.

The odds of winning a Mega Millions jackpot are incredibly steep: one in 302.5m.

The game is played in 45 states as well as Washington DC and the US Virgin Islands.