CHICAGO (NewsNation) — At last, the $1.34 billion Illinois Mega Millions jackpot prize was claimed by two people, almost eight weeks after the historic July drawing, the Illinois Lottery announced Tuesday.
Lottery officials said the prize was shared by two people who agreed to split the prize if they won.
The winners wish to remain anonymous, and the Illinois Lottery is unable to share any information about the winners except to say that they must be absolutely “over the moon” with their win.
“I’ve been working for the Illinois Lottery for over five years, and this is by far the largest prize I’ve ever had to process. When we met with the winners’ lawyers there was a real buzz of excitement in the room,” said Illinois Lottery claims manager Luis Rodriguez, who was on hand to support the winners and their legal representatives through the prize claim process.
“The winners have spent the past few weeks working with professional legal and financial advisors to support the claim process, and have opted to take the lump sum payment of $780.5 million,” lottery officials said.
One jackpot-winning ticket was bought from a Speedway gas station in Des Plaines, Illinois for the drawing that was held on July 29.
The winning numbers were: 13-36-45-57-67, Mega Ball: 14.
The jackpot was the third-largest jackpot in U.S. history. It 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.