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A Georgia resident has been identified as the winner of the A Mega Millions jackpot of $983 million — the eighth-largest lottery prize in gaming history and the largest lottery prize ever won in the state, officials announced Tuesday.
The ticket holder, who remained anonymous, came forward on Jan. 2 to collect the prize after the Nov. 14 drawing, the lottery said.
The winner chose the $453.6 million pre-tax cash option.
The lottery said that Resident of Georgia has family members who have benefited from the HOPE scholarship funded by the Georgia Lottery.
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The $983 million Mega Millions jackpot was claimed by a Georgia resident after the November 14 drawing. (Frédéric J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
“We are thrilled to celebrate Georgia’s record jackpot winner and his life-changing start to the year,” Gretchen Corbin, president and CEO of Georgia Lottery Corp., said in a statement. “This historic jackpot was also important to Georgia’s students, families and communities who benefit from HOPE and Pre-K. We congratulate our winner and appreciate the support of our players and retail partners during this exciting jackpot run.”
The ticket holder is a regular lottery player who enjoys support HOPE and Pre-K in the state, the lottery said. They noticed the growing jackpot on a billboard, which prompted them to buy a ticket.
After learning there was a winner, the individual checked the Georgia Lottery website for the winning numbers and confirmed the result.
The lottery said the winner hopes make the price “generational” in addition to giving back to “good causes”.
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A Georgia resident has been identified as the winner of the $983 million Mega Millions jackpot, the largest lottery prize ever won in the state. (Reuters/Mike Segar/Reuters Photos)
The winning Quick Pick ticket was sold in Newnan, Georgia at a Publix supermarket. Georgia Lottery retailers who sell a winning Mega Millions jackpot ticket receive a $50,000 incentive bonus, according to the lottery.
The last time someone won such a large prize was in December 2024, when a player from California won a jackpot of $1.269 billion.
“This is by far the largest prize ever won in the month of November and the eighth-largest jackpot in gaming history,” the lottery said after the November drawing, adding that “in the 40 drawings since the jackpot was last won at $348 million in Virginia on June 27 – the most draws in a single jackpot in gaming history – there have been nearly 14.3 million winning tickets at all levels price”.
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The November 14 Mega Millions drawing resulted in a $983 million jackpot in Georgia. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
The jackpot had been growing since late June when a single ticket sold in Georgia matched all six numbers in the Nov. 14 drawing.
Mega Millions changed its format last April, increasing ticket prices from $2 to $5 per game.
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The price change is expected to accelerate jackpot growth and increase the starting jackpot from $20 million to $50 million.
The record jackpot belongs to a Florida prize of $1.602 billion from August 2023.
Greg Norman of FOX Business contributed to this report.
