Single ticket wins $1.35B Mega Millions jackpot

WASHINGTON — After three months and 25 straight drawings without a winner, one lucky player in Maine will take home Friday's $1.35 billion jackpot, the fourth-largest lottery prize in U.S. history.

The winning numbers for Friday, Jan. 13 were 30-43-45-46-61 and gold Mega Ball 14.

Until Friday, no one had matched all six numbers and won the grand prize since Oct. 14. Those 25 straight drawings without a winner allowed the top prize to roll over and grow larger for three months — not surprising, given the game's 1 in 302.6 million odds.

"Congratulations to the Maine State Lottery, which has just won its first-ever Mega Millions jackpot," Pat McDonald, Ohio lottery director and lead director of the Mega Millions Consortium, said in a statement Saturday morning.

It was a big night for smaller winners, too. Fourteen players in California, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, New York, Pennsylvania and Texas matched five numbers to win $1 million.

While Friday the 13th is superstitiously considered unlucky, Mega Millions says there have now been 7 wins on the date since the game began in 2002.

The $1.35 billion prize is for a winner who chooses an annuity with annual payments over 29 years. Winners almost always take the cash option, which for Friday night's drawing would be an estimated $724.6 million.

The jackpot resets to $20 million for the next drawing on Tuesday night.

Friday's prize is the second-highest in Mega Millions history, topped only by the $1.537 billion jackpot won in October 2018.

Powerball is also tantalizing players with a growing jackpot, reaching $404 million for Saturday's drawing. The next two highest jackpot prizes belong to Powerball, at $2.04 billion and $1.586 billion.

What are the largest US lottery jackpots ever won?

1. $2.04 billion, Powerball, Nov. 8, 2022 (one ticket, from California)

2. $1.586 billion, Powerball, Jan. 13, 2016 (three tickets, from California, Florida, Tennessee)

3. $1.537 billion, Mega Millions, Oct. 23, 2018 (one ticket, from South Carolina)

4. $1.337 billion, Mega Millions, July 29, 2022 (one ticket, from Illinois)

5. $1.05 billion, Mega Millions, Jan. 22, 2021 (one ticket, from Michigan)

6. $768.4 million, Powerball, March 27, 2019 (one ticket, from Wisconsin)

7. $758.7 million, Powerball, Aug. 23, 2017 (one ticket, from Massachusetts)

8. $731.1 million, Powerball, Jan. 20, 2021 (one ticket, from Maryland)

9. $699.8 million, Powerball, Oct. 4, 2021 (one ticket, from California)

10. $687.8 million, Powerball, Oct. 27, 2018 (two tickets, from Iowa and New York)