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The recent $1.34 billion Mega Millions jackpot has finally been claimed by two winners who agreed to split the prize when they purchased the ticket.
The Illinois Lottery confirmed that the winning ticket was finally cashed in nearly eight weeks after the drawing took place on July 29, CNN reports.
Two individuals agreed to take the lump sum payment of $780.5 million after weeks of working with professional legal and financial advisers through the claim process, the Illinois Lottery confirmed.
"I've been working for the Illinois Lottery for over five years and this is by far the largest prize I've ever had to process. When we met with the winners' lawyers there was a real buzz of excitement in the room," Illinois Lottery Claims Manager Luis Rodriguez told CNN, adding that officials worked with the winners and their legal representatives through the prize claim process.
"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," Rodriguez added.
The winning ticket was purchased at a Speedway convenience store in Des Plaines.
The Mega Millions results from the Friday, July 29, 2022 drawing are listed below:
NUMBERS: 67-45-57-36-13
GOLD BALL: 14
MEGAPLIER: 2x
The July 29 jackpot marked the third time the game has exceeded the $1 billion plateau and offer the third-largest jackpot in U.S. lottery history.
The odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot are reported to be 1 in 302.5 million, according to MegaMillions.com.
The Mega Millions jackpot reset twice during back-to-back drawings after players matched all six numbers on April 11 and April 15.
Mega Millions had previously offered a jackpot exceeding $1 billion on January 22, 2021, the second-largest jackpot in the game's history, won by a player in Michigan who matched all six numbers.
In October 2018, a ticket was sold in South Carolina winning $1.537 billion ($878 million cash value), which is the world's largest jackpot for a single ticket and the largest cash value for a single ticket.
Powerball's jackpot had also risen to $731.1 million in January 2021, which was then the third-largest cash value for a single ticket in lottery history and the fourth-largest in Powerball history, having hit two days prior to the Mega Millions $1.05 billion jackpot.
Both jackpots increase during each following game until there's a winning ticket matching all six numbers drawn, which includes the additional Mega Millions "gold ball" or Powerball in each respective game