The Mega Millions jackpot ticket was sitting in the Chicago area all along.
After a months-long search for a jackpot winner, someone in Illinois beat the 1-in-303 million odds and won $1.337 billion.
According to the Illinois Lottery, the winning ticket was purchased at the Speedway, at 885 E Touhy Ave., in Des Plaines.
The winning numbers called in Friday night's drawing were: 13-36-45-57-67, Mega Ball: 14.
“We are thrilled to have witnessed one of the biggest jackpot wins in Mega Millions history," Ohio Lottery Director Pat McDonald, currently serving as Lead Director for the Mega Millions Consortium, said in a statement on the lottery's website. "We’re eager to find out who won and look forward to congratulating the winner soon!”
The giant $1.28 billion jackpot remains the nation's third-largest prize and is the result of 29 consecutive drawings without anyone matching all of the game's six numbers. That last time someone hit the Mega Millions jackpot was April 15.
The only prizes that were larger were all worth at least $1 billion, including the all-time record jackpot of nearly $1.6 billion in a Jan. 2016 Powerball drawing.
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The Mega Millions drawings in Oct. 2018 ($1.5 billion) and Jan. 2021 ($1 billion) are the only other two jackpots to exceed hit the $1 billion mark.
A $1 million winning ticket was also sold in Illinois earlier. According to the Illinois Lottery, a ticket that matched five out of six of the Mega Millions numbers worth $1 million was sold at the JM Food Shop, at 11200 N. IL Route 47, in Huntley.
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According to the Mega Millions website, five other states sold "Match 5" winning tickets, worth $1 Million each: California, Florida, New Jersey, New York and Ohio. Officials say New Jersey and New York each sold two "Match 5" winning tickets.
Mega Millions is played in 45 states as well as Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The game is overseen by state lottery officials.