At least two people will share a $370-million (R2,7-billion) lottery jackpot in the United States, officials said on Wednesday after the record prize drew in millions of players across the country.
”Right now we know there are two winning tickets: one in the state of New Jersey, one in the state of Georgia,” Ohio Lottery Commission spokesperson Mardele Cohen told CNN television.
Technical problems in California meant it was not yet known if any other tickets were sold with the winning numbers.
The Mega Millions top prize had rolled over 15 times without a winner, with the previous draw last Friday offering a relatively modest $267-million.
But snowballing sales of tickets pushed up the jackpot and sparked further interest in the draw, with the one-in-176-million chance of picking the winning six numbers apparently not putting people off.
Reports said that one million tickets were sold in a single hour on Tuesday in New York — one of the 12 states where the Mega Millions is drawn.
The biggest winner is the US Treasury, which will scoop $130-million in taxes from the draw. The lucky ticket holders will also have to pay state taxes on their winnings, with the amount depending on where they live.
Last year, eight workers at a Nebraska meat-processing plant shared a jackpot of $365-million, which was the highest lottery win paid out until this week. — Sapa-AFP