Three Winners So Far For Friday’s $640 Million Mega Millions Jackpot

Three lucky ticket holders in Maryland, Kansas, and Illinois will be sharing Friday’s $640 million Mega Millions jackpot, believed to be the largest lottery jackpot in history.

According to a spokesman for the Illinois lottery, the winning ticket for their state was sold at a Moto Mart in the town of Red Bud.  The winner has not been identified yet, but the ticket has been confirmed to have been a quick pick.  The Maryland winning ticket was sold at a retail store in Baltimore County, and the Kansas ticket was from the northeastern part of the state.  The winners will each receive around $213 million before taxes.  Carole Everett, director of communications for the Maryland Lottery, said that they are very excited to have a winner from their state.  The last time Maryland had a winner from a national lottery was in 2008, with the winner receiving $24 million.

The previous record breaking jackpot was back in 2007, with a winner from Georgia and New Jersey splitting a $390 million prize.

It is estimated that Americans spent over $1.5 billion on tickets for Friday’s big jackpot, with odds of winning at 1 in 179 million.  The winning numbers were 02-04-23-38-46, and the Mega Ball 23.

via MSNBC