Anybody win the mega millions jackpot last night

Mega Millions last saw a winner July 29, when a single ticket sold in a Chicago suburb won a $1.337 billion prize.

WASHINGTON — Two people across the country from one another are waking up multimillionaires. 

The lottery game said ticket-holders in California and Florida matched all six numbers drawn Friday night, splitting the estimated prize of $494 million. Most winners take the cash prize, in this case $247.9 million. 

Mega Millions said in a press release that this was its eleventh-largest jackpot ever. It's also a surprising coincidence — the last time two tickets split the Mega Millions jackpot was almost exactly five years ago on Oct. 13, 2017.

They weren't the only winners Friday: Two tickets sold in North Carolina and New Jersey matched the five white numbers to win $1 million. Another ticket, this one sold in Texas, also added the Megaplier and won $2 million. 

The winning numbers for Friday were 9-22-26-41-44, Mega Ball 19 and Megaplier 2.

Mega Millions hadn't seen a winner since July 29, when a single ticket sold in a Chicago suburb won a $1.337 billion prize.

In order to win the Mega Millions grand prize, a player needs to match all five numbers and the gold Mega Ball number. Players face astronomical odds for a jackpot win: 1 in 302.5 million. 

The jackpot will reset to $20 million for the next drawing on Tuesday, Oct. 18.

Meanwhile, Powerball has an estimated $454 million jackpot up for grabs on Saturday as its own winless streak continues, inching the jackpot closer to the top 10 largest Powerball jackpots ever won. The cash value on the prize is $232.6 million.

Nobody won the Powerball jackpot Wednesday, but three tickets from Wednesday night's drawing won $250,000 after matching four numbers and the Powerball, along with having the "Power Play" feature that multiplied the prize by five times. Those tickets were bought in Colorado, Idaho and Texas. 

While Mega Millions and Powerball both hit jackpots over $400 million this week, neither come close to last summer's near-record $1.377 billion Mega Millions jackpot that had Americans in a lottery frenzy in July. A winner in Illinois took home the grand prize. Two people came forward last month to claim it but chose to stay anonymous.

Megan Divers contributed to this report.

A customer walks in to the Speedway gas station in Des Plaines, Ill., where the winning Mega Millions lottery ticket was sold on July 30. Two people who wish to remain anonymous have claimed the $1.337 billion jackpot, officials said Wednesday. Nam Y. Huh/AP hide caption

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Nam Y. Huh/AP

A customer walks in to the Speedway gas station in Des Plaines, Ill., where the winning Mega Millions lottery ticket was sold on July 30. Two people who wish to remain anonymous have claimed the $1.337 billion jackpot, officials said Wednesday.

Nam Y. Huh/AP

CHICAGO — Two people who wish to remain anonymous have claimed a $1.337 billion Mega Millions jackpot after a single ticket to the late July drawing was sold in a Chicago suburb, opting to take a lump sum payment of $780.5 million, lottery officials said Wednesday.

The Illinois Lottery said the prize for the July 29 drawing, which was the nation's third-largest lottery prize, was claimed by two individuals who had agreed to split the prize if they won. The two, who followed the lead of the vast majority of winners who choose to remain anonymous, had until Sept. 27 to opt in favor of the lump sum payment, said Emilia Mazur, spokeswoman for Camelot Illinois, the private manager of the Illinois Lottery.

The Illinois Lottery said it was unable to share any information about the winners except to say that they must be absolutely "over the moon" with their Mega Millions win. Illinois is one of at least 16 states where winners can remain anonymous.

Lottery officials said the two people have spent the past few weeks working with professional legal and financial advisors to support the claim process — something experts recommend lottery winners do.

"These winners are now in the enviable position of deciding what to do with their newfound fortune," said Illinois Lottery Director Harold Mays.

According to megamillions.com, one jackpot-winning ticket was bought at a Speedway gas station and convenience store in Des Plaines.

The winning numbers were: 13-36-45-57-67, Mega Ball: 14.

The jackpot grew so large because no one had matched the game's six selected numbers since April 15. That's 29 consecutive draws without a jackpot winner. Because nobody has won the Mega Millions jackpot since the July 29 drawing, the jackpot now stands at an estimated $301 million.