One lucky ticket purchased at a North Carolina grocery store for Friday’s Mega Millions drawing matched all five white balls to win a $1 million prize.
The lucky winner purchased the $2 ticket from the Food Lion on Highland Street in Mount Holly in Gaston County.
The $1 million prize was one of three won nationally in Friday’s drawing with the other two wins occurring in California. A $3 Mega Millions ticket sold in South Carolina won $2 million, the largest prize in Friday’s drawing. The odds of matching numbers on all five white balls are 1 in 12.6 million.
One other big win occurred in North Carolina. A ticket purchased in Guilford County using Online Play matched four of the five white balls and the yellow Mega Ball to win $10,000. Thousands of smaller prizes from $2 to $500 were also won.
Winners have 180 days to claim their prizes.
Since no one won Friday’s jackpot, the new jackpot for Tuesday’s drawing climbs to $640 million as an annuity, or $328 million cash. The $640 million jackpot ranks as the 7th largest in Mega Millions history.
The Powerball game offers an even bigger jackpot in Saturday’s drawing. Tonight’s jackpot stands as a $875 million annuity, or $441.9 million cash, and ranks as the 3rd largest in Powerball history.
Players can buy Mega Millions or Powerball tickets at any lottery retail location, through Online Play on the lottery’s website or by using the NC Lottery Official Mobile App. The odds of winning a Powerball jackpot are 1 in 292 million and the odds of winning a Mega Millions jackpot are 1 in 302 million.
Ticket sales from draw games make it possible for the lottery to raise $2.5 million a day on average for education.