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Single Ticket in Georgia Wins $980 Million Mega Millions Jackpot

The $5-format overhaul this spring helped push the prize to one of the game’s largest.

Overview

  • A Quick Pick bought at a Publix in Newnan matched 1, 8, 11, 12, 57 and Mega Ball 7 to claim the top prize.
  • The winner can choose a $980 million annuity or a $452.2 million cash option before taxes, and the selling retailer earns a $50,000 bonus.
  • The win ends a record run of roughly 39–40 drawings since June 27 without a jackpot and marks the largest lottery payout in Georgia history and the eighth-largest Mega Millions jackpot.
  • Under the revamped rules introduced in April, non-jackpot payouts swelled, with the long run producing nearly 14.3 million winning tickets and about $343.4 million in non-jackpot prizes.
  • Other prizes in the latest drawing included a $3 million ticket in Michigan for matching five white balls with a 3X multiplier, and tax analyses estimate a lump-sum take-home near $261 million depending on federal and state liabilities.