Jan. 2 (UPI) — One ticket won the $425 million prize for the Mega Millions lottery, which was sold in New York on New Year’s Day.
The jackpot is the eighth-largest in the history of the game. The lucky winning ticket can claim a cash option of $254.6 million. The winning numbers were 34, 44, 57, 62, 70 and a Mega Ball 14.
Seven other players won at least $1 million after matching all the numbers except the Mega Ball.
The winning ticket was sold at a minimart BP gas station in Glen Head, New York. The owner of the store showed up for work Wednesday surprised to find a media mob waiting for him in the parking lot.
“I saw my parking like crazy — all the cars,” Owner Jay Huang told the New York Post. “I thought something happened, maybe a robber but nobody called me.”
An employee soon told him someone hit the jackpot at his store. Huang, who has owned the store for a decade, will get a $10,000 cut of the jackpot.
The Mega Millions starts over again with a $40 million jackpot drawing on Friday. The seven other winners are in New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Texas.
The prize got as high as $1.53 billion in October but the person who bought the winning ticket in South Carolina hasn’t come forward.
Mega Millions is played in 44 states, Washington, D.C., and the Virgin Islands. Tickets cost $2 each. Winners pick five different numbers from 1 to 70 and one number from 1 to 25 or select Easy Pick of Quick Pick.
The next Powerball drawing is Wednesday with an estimated jackpot of $53 million.
