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A Georgia resident has been recognized because the winner of the $983 million Mega Hundreds of thousands jackpot — the eighth-largest within the sport’s historical past and the most important lottery prize ever received within the state, officers mentioned Tuesday.
The ticket holder, who remained nameless, stepped ahead on Jan. 2 to gather the prize following the drawing on Nov. 14, the lottery mentioned.
The winner chosen the money possibility of $453.6 million earlier than taxes.
The lottery mentioned the Georgia resident has members of the family who’ve benefited from the Georgia Lottery-funded HOPE Scholarship.
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The $983 million Mega Hundreds of thousands jackpot was claimed by a Georgia resident following the Nov. 14 drawing. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP through Getty Pictures / Getty Pictures)
“We’re thrilled to have fun Georgia’s record-breaking jackpot winner and their life-changing begin to the brand new yr,” Georgia Lottery Corp. President and CEO Gretchen Corbin mentioned in a press release. “This historic jackpot was additionally important for Georgia’s college students, households and communities who profit from HOPE and Pre-Ok. We congratulate our winner and respect the help of our gamers and retail companions throughout this thrilling jackpot run.”
The ticket holder is an everyday lottery participant who enjoys supporting HOPE and Pre-Ok within the state, the lottery mentioned. They observed the rising jackpot on a billboard, which prompted them to buy a ticket.
After studying there was a winner, the person checked the Georgia Lottery web site for the profitable numbers and confirmed the consequence.
The lottery mentioned the winner hopes to make the prize “generational” along with giving again to “good causes.”
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A Georgia resident was recognized because the winner of the $983 million Mega Hundreds of thousands jackpot, the biggest lottery prize ever received within the state. (Reuters/Mike Segar / Reuters Pictures)
The profitable Fast Choose ticket was bought in Newnan, Georgia, at a Publix grocery store. Georgia Lottery retailers that promote a profitable Mega Hundreds of thousands jackpot ticket obtain a $50,000 retailer incentive bonus fee, in keeping with the lottery.
The final time somebody took residence such a big prize was in December 2024, when a California participant received a $1.269 billion jackpot.
“It’s by far the biggest prize ever received in the month of November, and the eighth-largest jackpot within the historical past of the sport,” the lottery mentioned following the November drawing, including that, “within the 40 drawings for the reason that jackpot was final received at $348 million in Virginia on June 27 — probably the most drawings in a single jackpot run within the sport’s historical past — there have been virtually 14.3 million profitable tickets in any respect prize ranges.”
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The Nov. 14 Mega Hundreds of thousands drawing resulted in a $983 million jackpot win in Georgia. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Company through Getty Pictures)
The jackpot had been swelling for the reason that finish of June when a single ticket bought in Georgia matched all six numbers within the Nov. 14 drawing.
Mega Hundreds of thousands modified its format final April, elevating ticket costs from $2 to $5 per play.
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The value change is predicted to speed up jackpot progress and lift the beginning jackpot from $20 million to $50 million.
The file jackpot belongs to a $1.602 billion Florida prize from August 2023.
FOX Enterprise’ Greg Norman contributed to this report.