Tri-State Lottery players react to winning the Mega Millions jackpot on Friday

HANNIBAL (WGEM) – After a three-month wait, the Mega Millions jackpot has finally been won by a player in Northern California.

On Tuesday, the Mega Millions lottery jackpot reached ten figures for the seventh time in history. Millions of tickets were purchased across the country, but no winner was chosen for three months. However, a winner was found on Friday.

A local lottery player said he doesn’t mind even if he doesn’t take home the jackpot.

“Anytime someone wins money in this economy, it’s always a good thing, so good for them,” lottery player Don Hall said.

The final total jackpot was $1.22 billion, the fifth highest total jackpot in the game’s history. But despite the high number, the winner doesn’t walk away with the entire sum and has two options to collect his prize.

The anonymous winner can receive the money in annual installments or a lump sum totaling around $550 million. These totals do not include the high tax rate for large lottery winnings.

Another local lottery player said if you don’t play, you can’t win.

“You can’t make money because you’re afraid of money, so you have to bet to win. I’m a fan of it, I support anyone who does it. This time it definitely paid off,” explained Ryan Dempsey, another lottery player.

The next Mega Millions drawing will take place on Tuesday and the jackpot is estimated at $20 million.

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