WASHINGTON — A single winning ticket sold in Florida has taken the $1.58 billion Mega Millions jackpot, the largest in the game's history.
A Publix grocery store in Neptune Beach sold the winning ticket. Seven tickets that matched five white balls but not the gold Mega Ball were sold, with two $1 million winners in Texas; one each in California, Pennsylvania and West Virginia; and $2 million winners in Florida and North Carolina.
The jackpot now resets to a measly $20 million.
It was a long stretch of jackpot futility, but Tuesday night's 32nd straight drawing since the last winner still didn't set a record. The longest run for a Mega Millions jackpot was 36 drawings that ended on Jan. 22, 2021, with a $1.05 billion jackpot.
"There’s always an air of excitement around the country when Mega Millions jackpots soar," said Gretchen Corbin, the Mega Millions Consortium lead director and Georgia Lottery CEO, in a release. "The growing jackpot is a source of entertainment and winnings for players while generating important dollars for the good causes supported by each lottery."
Mega Millions hadn't seen a grand prize winner since April 18, when a 71-year-old man from New York won the state's largest Mega Millions jackpot ever. Johnnie Taylor of Howard Beach in Queens, New York, won $476 million but opted for the cash option — a lump sum of more than $157 million after taxes.
Winners almost always take the cash option, but they do have a choice to instead get the full amount in regular payments over 29 years. The cash option for Tuesday's drawing was $783.3 million.
Mega Millions winning numbers for Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023:
The winning numbers were: 13, 19, 20, 32, 33 Mega Ball 14 and Megaplier 2.
When is the Mega Millions drawing?
Mega Millions drawings take place on Tuesday and Friday at 11 p.m. Eastern Time.
What are the largest US lottery jackpots ever?
- $2.04 billion, Powerball, Nov. 8, 2022 (one ticket, from California)
- $1.586 billion, Powerball, Jan. 13, 2016 (three tickets, from California, Florida, Tennessee)
- $1.58 billion, Mega Millions, Aug. 8, 2023 (one ticket)
- $1.537 billion, Mega Millions, Oct. 23, 2018 (one ticket, from South Carolina)
- $1.348 billion Mega Millions, Jan. 13, 2023 (one ticket, from Maine)
- $1.337 billion, Mega Millions, July 29, 2022 (one ticket, from Illinois)
- $1.08 billion, Powerball, July 19, 2023 (one ticket, from California)
- $1.05 billion, Mega Millions, Jan. 22, 2021 (one ticket, from Michigan)
- $768.4 million, Powerball, March 27, 2019 (one ticket, from Wisconsin)
- $758.7 million, Powerball, Aug. 23, 2017 (one ticket, from Massachusetts)
The Associated Press contributed to this report.