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A Georgia resident has been identified as the winner of the $983 million Mega Millions jackpot — the eighth largest in the game’s history and the largest lottery prize ever won in the state, officials said Tuesday.
The ticket holder, who remained anonymous, stepped forward on January 2 to collect the prize after the drawing on November 14, the lottery said.
The winner selected the cash option of $453.6 million before taxes.
According to the lottery, the Georgia resident has family members who have benefited from the Georgia Lottery-funded HOPE Scholarship.
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The $983 million Mega Millions jackpot was claimed by a Georgia resident after the November 14 drawing. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images)
“We are thrilled to celebrate Georgia’s record-breaking jackpot winner and their life-changing start to the new year,” said Gretchen Corbin, president and CEO of Georgia Lottery Corp. in a statement. “This historic jackpot was also important to Georgia’s students, families and communities who benefit from HOPE and Pre-K. We congratulate our winner and appreciate the support of our players and retail partners during this exciting jackpot run.”
The ticket holder is a regular lottery player who enjoys supporting HOPE and Pre-K in the state, the lottery said. They saw the growing jackpot on a billboard, which prompted them to buy a ticket.
After learning there was a winner, the person checked the Georgia Lottery website for the winning numbers and confirmed the result.
According to the lottery, the winner hopes to make the prize “generative” in addition to giving back to “charities.”
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A Georgia resident was identified as the winner of the $983 million Mega Millions jackpot, the largest lottery prize ever won in the state. (Reuters/Mike Segar / Reuters Photos)
The winning Quick Pick ticket was sold in Newnan, Georgia, at a Publix supermarket. Georgia Lottery retailers who sell a winning Mega Millions jackpot ticket will receive a $50,000 incentive bonus, according to the lottery.
The last time someone took home such a big prize was in December 2024, when a California player won a $1.269 billion jackpot.
“It is by far the largest prize ever won in the month of November, and the eighth largest jackpot in the history of the game,” the lottery said after the November drawing, adding that “in the 40 drawings since the jackpot was last won of $348 million in Virginia on June 27 – the most single jackpot drawings in the history of the game – there have been nearly 14.3 million winning tickets at all prize levels.”
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The November 14 Mega Millions drawing resulted in a $983 million jackpot win in Georgia. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
The jackpot had grown dramatically since late June, when a single ticket sold in Georgia matched all six numbers from the Nov. 14 drawing.
Mega Millions changed its format last April, raising ticket prices from $2 to $5 per game.
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The prize change is expected to accelerate jackpot growth and increase the starting jackpot from $20 million to $50 million.
The record jackpot belongs to a $1.602 billion Florida prize from August 2023.
