Maine lottery winner for Mega Millions jackpot of $1.35 billion.

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – One winning ticket for the Mega Millions lottery jackpot worth at least $1.35billion was sold in Maine on Saturday, lottery organizers announced.

“Congratulations Maine State Lottery for winning its first ever Mega Millions jackpot,” Ohio Lottery Director Pat McDonald, the Mega Millions Consortium’s lead director, stated in a statement. “It’s a fourth-largest Mega Millions jackpot.”

The statement did not identify either the city or the holder for the winning ticket. This would have cost $2 to purchase and match all six numbers. They can choose to receive a lump sum payment of $724.6 millions or an annual payment over 30 years.

According to Mega Millions, most winners opt for the lump sum. This comes with a large tax bill.

The winning numbers were 30, 43 and 46. Since the October 14th, when a $552 million prize was split by California and Florida winners, the jackpot has been rolling. It is second in the 20 year history of the game. The largest prize was won by South Carolina’s $1.537 billion in October 2018.

The jackpot-winning ticket was not the only one that won the prize. Fourteen tickets also matched all five numbers, winning the second-tier $1 million prize. Two were sold in New York and two in California. One each was sold in Florida, Illinois and Kansas.

The state in which the Mega Millions tickets were sold is responsible for half of the net proceeds. This money goes to lottery beneficiaries such as education, public employee pensions and retailer commissions.

(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; editing done by Diane Craft