A Mega Millions playslip for those players preferring to choose the numbers they want to play is among the stacks of other lottery game playslips on display at a Smoker Friendly store, Friday, Jan. 22, 2021, in Cranberry Township, Pa. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)
By Ed White
Someone in Michigan bought the winning ticket for the $1.05 billion Mega Millions jackpot, which is the third-largest lottery prize in U.S. history.
The winning numbers for Friday night’s drawing were 4, 26, 42, 50, and 60, with a Mega Ball of 24. The winning ticket was purchased at a Kroger store in the Detroit suburb of Novi, the Michigan Lottery said.
“Someone in Michigan woke up to life-changing news this morning, and Kroger Michigan congratulates the newest Michigan multimillionaire,” said Rachel Hurst, a regional spokeswoman for the grocery chain. She declined to comment further.
The Mega Millions top prize had been growing since Sept. 15, when a winning ticket was sold in Wisconsin. The lottery's next estimated jackpot is $20 million.
Friday night's drawing came just two days after a ticket sold in Maryland matched all six numbers drawn and won a $731.1 million Powerball jackpot.
The jackpot figures refer to amounts if a winner opts for an annuity, paid in 30 annual installments. Most winners choose a cash prize, which for the Mega Millions game would be $776.6 million before taxes and $557 million after taxes, Michigan Lottery spokesman Jake Harris said.
“No way!” Ryan Gabrielli told The Detroit News after shopping Saturday at the lucky Kroger. “We meant to play the lottery but forgot to.”
Harris said the ticket holder should sign the back and keep it in a safe place.
“I wouldn't be surprised if the winning ticket holder held onto that ticket for a little bit, got their affairs in order, put together a financial plan, and then reached out to contact us,” he said.
Only two lottery prizes in the U.S. have been larger than Friday's jackpot. Three tickets for a $1.586 billion Powerball jackpot were sold in January 2016, and one winning ticket sold for a $1.537 billion Mega Millions jackpot in October 2018.
In Grosse Ile, a suburb south of Detroit, 126 people bought more than 600 tickets for the Friday drawing but didn't win the jackpot. They hoped to win enough money to replace a publicly owned bridge on their island in the Detroit River that has been closed indefinitely for major repairs. The only other transportation option for the island's 10,000 residents is a privately owned toll bridge.
“We used this to lift our spirits and dream a little bit,” said organizer Kyle de Beausset. “Of course we're open to any help with the bridge, but I can't imagine the winner would want to finance it.”
The odds of winning a Mega Millions jackpot were incredibly steep, at one in 302.5 million.
The game is played in 45 states as well as Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
___
Associated Press writer Julie Walker in New York City contributed to this report.
Vacasa is the largest full-service vacation rental property management company in the United States. Today, it announced the launch of a new homeowner app to help users monitor how the company is managing their vacation rental homes. It comes as consumer confidence in travel is on the rise ahead of the holiday season. Vacasa CEO Matt Roberts joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Everyone is stepping into the NFT space, including the Grammys. 'Oneof' is entering a three-year partnership with The Recording Academy to release exclusive NFTs commemorating the 64th, 65th, and 66th Annual Grammy Awards. A portion of the proceeds will also go to The Recording Academy's scholarship fund. Adam Fell, co-founder and board member of Oneof and the president of Quincy Jones Productions, joins Cheddar News to discuss the announcement.
'THEMAGIC5' produces swimming goggles that contour the face using advanced robot technologies and 3D printing. Both of the company's founders Bo Haaber and Rasmus Barfred went on ABC's 'Shark Tank' and caught a $1 million deal. The duo join Cheddar News to talk about what the new funding means for the company.
Molly Hayward, the founder of wellness brand Cora, joins Cheddar News to discuss the company's product, Period Balm, being a CEW Beauty Creators Awards Finalist.
Things are looking up for everyone's favorite crypto. Bitcoin rallied nearly 40% in October, hitting a record high of $66,975. That was the biggest single-month percentage rally since December 2020. On Monday morning, Bitcoin was trading 2.4% higher while Ethereum and Dogecoin were trading at 1.71% and 3.95%. Ben Armstrong, founder of BitBoy Crypto, joins Cheddar News to talk about the latest in the crypto space.
Laura Vozzella, local reporter for The Washington Post, joins Cheddar News to discuss the close gubernatorial race in Virginia and what voters are looking for in each candidate.
The U.S. Supreme Court takes a closer look at the Texas abortion law that was designed by its sponsors to evade constitutional review in federal court. Katie Barlow, journalist and social media editor at SCOTUSblog joins Cheddar News to breakdown what was discussed.
John Paul Mejia, the national spokesperson for the Sunrise Movement, joined Cheddar to talk about what the youth activist group wants to see from President Joe Biden as he attends the COP26 climate summit. Mejia admonished the president for having little to deliver on his own climate agenda domestically while at the conference. "We need the president to follow through with his promises because, frankly, it's a matter of life or death not only for communities here in the United States but also those looking to us around the world," he said.
ESG, or environmental, social, and governance, investing has surged in popularity recently, reaching new record highs in 2020. The goal is to invest in companies and products that advocate for social change, while earning markets returns at the same time. Lauren Dillard, EVP and Head of Investment Intelligence at Nasdaq, joined Cheddar to discuss the ESG investing fad and the potential risks associated with it.
