A person in Illinois won the $1.28 billion Mega Millions jackpot, the third-largest prize in US history, after stores reported a 35 percent increase in lotto ticket sales.
Mega Millions officials have confirmed a winning jackpot ticket has been sold in Illinois, but the identity of the winner has yet to be confirmed.
The winning ticket was sold at the Speedy Cafe Speedway gas station on E. Touhy Avenue, in De Plaines, Fox Business reports.
DailyMail.com contacted the store, but a manager said he was unaware that the winning ticket came from his store.
Friday’s winning numbers were 67, 45, 57, 36 and 13. The ball of the mega millions was 14, with the winner winning the odds of 1 in 303 million.
The winner of Friday’s jackpot has the choice of receiving the $1.28 billion over the course of 29 years, or a lump sum of $747.2 million in cash.
The zeal to claim the prize, which after 29 consecutive draws was so high that the seller’s boards struggled to display the full amount.
A deli employee in Manhattan told the New York Post that ticket sales in his store had increased by as much as 35 percent from Friday’s draw.
The winning ticket was reportedly sold at the Speedy Cafe Speedway gas station (above) on E. Touhy Avenue, in De Plaines
Mega Millions officials have confirmed that a winning ticket to the $1.28 billion jackpot has been sold in Illinois, but the identity of the winner has yet to be confirmed
Stores across the country said lotto ticket sales were up 35 percent after the Mega Millions jackpot hit $1.28 billion Friday, the third-highest prize in history. Pictured: Customers at a Lucky’s Store in Illinois queuing to buy lotto tickets
The Blue Bird Liquor store in Los Angeles saw large lines on Friday as people rushed to try to beat the 1 in 303 million chance of winning
Pictured: People crowd around a kiosk in Manhattan to buy tickets on Friday
After 29 consecutive draws, the Mega Millions prize rose to the point where the sellers’ boards struggled to display the full amount. Pictured: A Manhattan store hung a paper note by the lottery display, as the electronic sign could not exceed $999 million
After Friday’s big winner, 26 runner-up tickets were sold, six of which included the Megaplier, which doubles their $1 million winnings.
Three of the six winning Megaplier tickets were sold in Florida, and Arkansas, Iowa and Pennsylvania saw one winner each.
The other 20 $1 million award winners came from 15 different states. Two winning tickets were sold in Florida, Georgia, Minnesota, North Carolina and Texas each, and California, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin each saw one winning ticket.
Lottery officials added that 375 third-place tickets were sold, with winners able to cash in a $10,000 prize.
In total, more than 14.4 million tickets were sold in all nine prize tiers of the lottery for the July 29 draw.
The Plaines, the city where the winning ticket was purchased, is a large suburb just north of Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, in Cook County, with a population of approximately 60,000.
The gas station where the ticket was sold is part of the Speedway franchise, which operates more than 2,700 stores and 77 Speedy Cafés nationwide.
The station in Des Plaines has a 3-star rating on yelp, with several customers touting it for its helpful staff and services.
‘Staff were friendly and very helpful. Nothing negative to say about this location,” Yelp reviewer Suzie S. wrote. “Highly recommended!”
Other customers said it was the best spot given its proximity to O’Hare, and a TripAdvisor reviewer, Allen, writes: ‘There are plenty of pumps and because of its proximity to O’Hare it always seems to be busy with lots of color covered vehicles.’
While the identity of Friday’s winner remains unclear, experts say the lucky one should keep it that way as they keep their low profile.
Walt Blenner, an attorney who has worked with lottery winners in the past, advised the winner to get out of town for a while to keep themselves safe and under the radar.
“You don’t have to rent a dacha in Siberia — my last big winner rented a modest house under an assumed name just a few dozen miles from where he lived for a month,” Blenner told ABC News. “It is best to keep a distance between the lottery winner and the familiar environment.”
In Miami, people queued in front of stores early in the morning to be the first to buy raffle tickets
A man in Richardson, Texas, tries his luck while buying tickets
Jackpot hopeful Jennifer Ho (above) showed off the more than 50 lottery picks she bought Friday at the Lichine’s Liquors & Deli in Sacramento, California
As many wanted to claim the jackpot on Friday, ticket sales skyrocketed, with Charlie McIntyre, executive director of the New Hampshire Lottery, estimating that $200,000 worth of tickets were sold per hour in his state.
“Because it’s… the tourist season, we see a lot of out-of-state people playing,” McIntyre said. WMURand notes that New Hampshire is the only state in New England that doesn’t levy income taxes.
Pat McDonald, director of the Ohio Lottery, which leads the Mega Millions consortium, said he would like to hear who could claim the prize.
“We are thrilled with the opportunity Mega Millions is bringing to retailers, players and charities across the country,” he said in a statement.
Some of that goodness is already being seen as high ticket purchases in North Carolina have raised $16.5 million for education, ABC 13 reported.
“If you buy that two dollar ticket, about 76 cents goes to education,” said Van Denton, communications director for the NC Education Lottery.
That money goes to every county in the state to pay for school personnel, transportation and repair costs, and to support North Carolina’s pre-k program and college scholarships.
A California man in Palo Alto buys a ticket to try his luck at the lottery
Lottery officials in New Hampshire estimated that $200,000 worth of tickets were sold per hour on Friday. Pictured: Pierre’s Palace manager Bruce Gideos sells a Mega Millions ticket to a customer in Chesterfield
In Hawthorne, California, Ronald Marine (right) Bluebird Liquor employee sold $200 million worth of tickets to Paul Sandoval (left)
If no one had made it to all six numbers, the top prize would have hit a historic $1.7 billion, said Mega Millions announcer John Crow.
The largest Mega Millions jackpot was recorded in October 2018 at $1,537 billion where an anonymous player from South Carolina claimed the prize.
Mega Millions now lists the winnings for the next draw, which is scheduled for Tuesday, at $20 million.