For US lottery players dreaming of how they will spend the $1.28 billion (£1.05 billion) Mega Millions jackpot, now is the time to check their numbers.
The draw for the third largest lottery prize in the country was held on Friday.
It grew to such an astronomical figure after 29 consecutive draws without a winner.
The winning numbers for Friday night’s draw were: 13-36-45-57-67, with a Mega Ball of 14.
Image: People line up outside the Blue Bird Liquor store to buy Mega Millions lottery tickets in Hawthorne, California. Image: AP
The jackpot is the biggest lottery prize in nearly four years.
The winner can claim the $1.28 billion prize in the annuity option, which spreads the amount over 30 annual payments, or a cash option for around $747.2 million (£613.3 million sterling). Almost all jackpot winners choose the cash option.
Those who opt for the full prize could afford to buy the world’s largest yacht twice more. The 590-foot megayacht belongs to Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahyan, president of the United Arab Emirates.
The odds of winning the jackpot are one in 302.5 million.
If no one wins the jackpot on Friday night, lottery officials expect the prize to grow to around $1.7 billion (£1.4 billion) for the next draw on Tuesday, the nation’s biggest lottery prize.
Image: People buy Mega Millions lottery tickets. Image: AP
The biggest UK National Lottery jackpot of all time was £195m and was won in May this year.
It beat the €220m (£185m) jackpot won in France in October 2021, which was the previous record prize in Europe.