RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — A Floridian has claimed the largest jackpot in Mega Millions history and the third-largest lottery prize ever. However, a person in North Carolina also stands a chance to add some serious money to their bank account after Tuesday night’s drawing.
North Carolina was one of only two states with a $2 million ticket in the drawing, the other being Florida.
The $2 million ticket was sold in Wilmington at the Buy & Go on North College Road. The ticket matched the numbers on all five white balls. This typically wins $1 million, but that prize was doubled when the 2X Megaplier hit.
Whoever the lucky ticket buyer was had a 1 in 12.6 million chance of getting those numbers right.
In addition to the unclaimed $2 million ticket, Tuesday’s drawing also resulted in two $1 million wins from North Carolina tickets, which were purchased in Cherryville and Burlington.
All three winners have 180 days from the drawing to claim their prizes.
In the span of the 32 drawings it took for a jackpot win to be claimed, players in North Carolina won more than $13.6 million in prizes and an estimated $25.6 million was raised for education in the state.
As for what’s next for Mega Millions, the jackpot will reset with Friday’s drawing at $20 million, or $9.9 million in cash. The odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot are 1 in 302.5 million.
