A RECORD breaking $348 million lottery jackpot has just been won, but officials are currently locked in a desperate search to find the ticket.
It was won in the Mega Millions in a major US state, but the record amount could never see the light of day.
A record breaking $348 million lottery jackpot has just been won, but officials are currently locked in a desperate search to find the ticket[/caption]
Lotto chiefs have had nearly a month to find the winning jackpot ticket, but they’ve had no luck so far.
The search is being conducted in Northumberland County, Virginia, after a player’s trip to the convenience store promised to change their life.
The Virginia Lottery drew the Mega Millions numbers on June 27, and the mystery player managed to match all six of them.
For this game, the numbers were 18-21-29-42-50 with a Mega Ball of 2, and it was bought from E & C VA, located in the Burgess Area.
This $348 million jackpot is the largest won in the Commonwealth.
It is only the 10th Mega Millions jackpot won in Virginia since the game launched in 2002.
So far, the only pay out has been to the convenience store where the ticket was sold.
E & C VA is entitled to a $50,000 prize for selling a ticket worth more than $5 million.
This is the case with all Virginia retailers that sell a ticket of a certain value.
Juan Torres, vice president of operations at the Burgess E & C, was presented with a giant check for $50,000.
He said: “This may be the luckiest store in Virginia!
“All of us at E & C Mid-Atlantic are excited that this record-setting prize came from a ticket sold at our Burgess store.”
CONTINUING SEARCH
But the ticket holder is still out there, and there is a ticking clock on how long they have to come forward.
The lottery rules state that the player has 180 days from when the numbers were drawn to come forward and claim their fortune.
Top lottery winners in the US
Millions dream of winning the lottery and finding fame and fortune. These are the biggest winners in US lottery history.
- Edwin Castro – $2.04 billion, Powerball, Nov. 8, 2022, in California.
- Theodorus Struyck – $1.765 billion, Powerball, Oct. 11, 2023, in California.
- Unknown winner – $1.602 billion, Mega Millions, Aug. 8, 2023, in Florida.
- Marvin and Mae Acosta from Los Angeles, California, John and Lisa Robinson from Munford, Tennessee, and Maureen Smith and David Kaltschmidt from Melbourne Beach, Florida – $1.586 billion, Powerball, Jan. 13, 2016.
- Unknown winner – $1.537 billion, Mega Millions, Oct. 23, 2018, from South Carolina.
- Unknown winner – he sued the mother of his child to keep his identity hidden – $1.348 billion, Mega Millions, Jan. 13, 2023, from Maine.
- Unknown winner – $1.337 billion, Mega Millions, July 29, 2022, from Illinois.
- Cheng and Duanpen Saephan, and Laiza Liem Chao – $1.326 billion, Powerball, April 7, 2024, from Oregon.
- Rosemary Casarotti – $1.22 billion, Mega Millions, December 27 2024, from California
- Unknown winner – $1.13 billion, Mega Millions, March 26, from New Jersey
This gives the player in this case until December 24, Christmas Eve, to make themselves known.
If the player does come forward, they have the choice to either take the full jackpot in annual payments over 30 years, or take it in full.
This would give the player about $155.5 million to walk away with, as all lottery winnings must be taxed.
There are advantages to both options, you can either have a steady stream of income over the next few decades, or choose not to wait.
But if the player does not come forward, all profits will go to K-12 education in the state, referring to kindergarten through 12th grade.
This happens quite often, as in the fiscal year 2024, the lottery raised more than $934 million in that educational demographic.
Reportedly, this amounts to about 10% of Virginia’s total K-12 school budget.
The Virginia Lottery drew the Mega Millions numbers on June 27, and the mystery player managed to match all six of them[/caption]
