Updated with final jackpot amount and cash value

By Todd Northrop

Friday the 13th was the luckiest day in the life of someone in Maine who purchase a lottery ticket that won a staggering $1.348 billion last night.

After a run of 25 drawings without a jackpot winner, the 26th drawing of the multi-state Mega Millions game produced a single $1.348 billion winner last night when one lottery ticket sold in Maine matched all five numbers plus the Mega Ball.

The whopping jackpot is the fourth-largest the world has ever seen, and the second-largest in Mega Millions game history.

The winner of the unimaginable haul will choose between being paid $1.348 billion in 30 annually-increasing payments over 29 years or the lump-sum cash value of $723.5 million.

According to USA Mega's Mega Millions Jackpot Analysis, after all taxes are paid, the winner either will receive $754 million by the end of 29 years, or $404.1 million in cash all at once. Maine has a 7.15% state tax rate.

The winning ticket was sold in Lebanon, at Hometown Gas & Grill, according to the Maine State Lottery.

Friday the 13th is a popular date in Mega Millions history — now the seventh time there was a grand prize winner on the superstitious date — but it is the first time a Mega Millions jackpot has been won in the state of Maine.

"Congratulations to the Maine State Lottery, which has just won its first-ever Mega Millions jackpot," Pat McDonald, Ohio lottery director and lead director of the Mega Millions Consortium, said in a statement early Saturday. "We thank all our retailers for their hard work during this spectacular run, and our customers for their enthusiasm and support. I hope the fun and excitement Mega Millions has generated inspires a winning attitude in our daily lives and towards everyone we meet. Here's to a good year!"

Maine has been selling Mega Millions ticket since May 9, 2010.

The Mega Millions winning numbers for Friday, January 13, 2023, were 30, 43, 45, 46, and 61, with Mega Ball number 14. The Megaplier was 2.

It's hard to imagine the winner getting much sleep Friday night, as they try to process winning such an unimaginably huge lottery jackpot awarded to a single ticket — the one they're holding in their hand.

Millions of lottery players in the USA and around the world are wondering what they are planning to do with all that loot.

What is the first thing you would do?

(Here's what we would do.)

The public may or may not find out the identity of the winner, as Maine does not have privacy laws that allow a winner to claim a lottery jackpot anonymously. However, in a 2018 news story Maine Lottery Director of Operations Michael Boardman was quoted, explaining that a winner in Maine could technically remain anonymous by claiming under a trust. "What a winner could do in Maine is they could file their claim in the name of a trust, and the trust becomes the winner. So that's how a winner could claim their ticket anonymously," [Boardman said].

Lottery Post maintains a list of every state's anonymity policies for lottery winners, and Lottery Post published a comprehensive video presentation about each state's anonymity laws.

Fortunately, even if you didn't win the jackpot, the Mega Millions game still offers another 8 ways to win lower-tier prizes.

In addition to the jackpot winner, 14 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $1,000,000 prize: 2 from California, 1 from Florida, 1 from Illinois, 1 from Kansas, 1 from Kentucky, 1 from Missouri, 1 from North Carolina, 4 from New York, 1 from Pennsylvania, and 1 from Texas.

None of the second prize-winning tickets were purchased with the Megaplier option for an extra $1, which would have increased their prize to $2 million after being multiplied by the Megaplier number of 2.  The two California second prize winners will each claim a prize of $928,260 because unlike all the other Mega Millions states, California awards all prizes on a pari-mutuel basis, meaning the prizes will change each drawing based on the number of tickets sold and the number of tickets that won at each prize level.

164 tickets matched four white numbers plus the Mega Ball and won $10,000. Of those tickets, 27 were purchased with the Megaplier option, increasing the prize to $20,000, and 26 were sold in California, where the prize was $9,892 this drawing.

In total, more than 7 million tickets won prizes across the game's nine prize tiers in Friday's drawing. Apart from the jackpot, there were $46.5 million in prizes awarded last night.

A complete list of payouts for all prizes and the official drawing video can be found at USA Mega's Mega Millions Drawing Information page, as well as at Lottery Post's Mega Millions Prize Payouts page.

The record-holder for the world's largest lottery jackpot was a $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot in Nov. 2022, won by a single ticket sold in California. The winner has not yet claimed the prize.

The odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot are 1 in 302.6 million.

Had no one matched all of the numbers drawn lottery officials said the next jackpot would have reached $1.6 billion.

With the jackpot being won Friday, the next Mega Millions annuity jackpot estimate is reset to its starting point of $20 million.

Mega Millions is currently offered for sale in 45 states, plus Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Drawings are Tuesdays and Fridays at 11:00 pm Eastern Time. Tickets cost $2 each.

The Mega Millions winning numbers are published at USA Mega (www.usamega.com) minutes after the drawing takes place.

Top 25 United States lottery jackpots of all time

Friday's $1.35 billion Mega Millions jackpot stands as the fourth-largest lottery jackpot of all time in the United States — and the world.

1. Powerball: $2.0401 billion, Nov. 7, 2022 (40 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - California
2. Powerball: $1.5864 billion, Jan. 13, 2016 (19 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - California, Florida, Tennessee
3. Mega Millions: $1.537 billion, Oct. 23, 2018 (25 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - South Carolina
4. Mega Millions: $1.348 billion, Jan. 13, 2023 (25 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Maine
5. Mega Millions: $1.337 billion, Jul. 29, 2022 (29 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Illinois
6. Mega Millions: $1.05 billion, Jan. 22, 2021 (36 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Michigan
7. Powerball: $768.4 million, Mar. 27, 2019 (25 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Wisconsin
8. Powerball: $758.7 million, Aug. 23, 2017 (20 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Massachusetts
9. Powerball: $731.1 million, Jan. 20, 2021 (35 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Maryland
10. Powerball: $699.8 million, Oct. 4, 2021 (40 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - California
11. Powerball: $687.8 million, Oct. 27, 2018 (21 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Iowa, New York
12. Mega Millions: $656 million, Mar. 30, 2012 (18 rollovers, starting at $12 million) - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
13. Mega Millions: $648 million, Dec. 17, 2013 (21 rollovers, starting at $12 million) - California, Georgia
14. Powerball: $632.6 million, Jan 5, 2022 (39 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - California, Wisconsin
15. Powerball: $590.5 million, May 18, 2013 (13 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Florida
16. Powerball: $587.5 million, Nov. 28, 2012 (15 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Arizona, Missouri
17. Powerball: $564.1 million, Feb. 11, 2015 (20 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Texas
18. Powerball: $559.7 million, Jan. 6, 2018 (20 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - New Hampshire
19. Mega Millions: $543 million, Jul. 24, 2018 (22 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - California
20. Mega Millions: $536 million, Jul. 8, 2016 (34 rollovers, starting at $15 million) - Indiana
21. Mega Millions: $533 million, Mar. 30, 2018 (23 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - New Jersey
22. Mega Millions: $522 million, Jun. 7, 2019 (24 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - California
23. Mega Millions: $516 million, May 21, 2021 (26 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Pennsylvania
24. Mega Millions: $502 million, Oct. 14, 2022 (21 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - California, Florida
25. Powerball: $487 million, Jul. 30, 2016 (23 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - New Hampshire

For those keeping score, the number of jackpots in the top 25, by lottery game, are:

• Powerball: 13
• Mega Millions: 12

Top 25 cash value jackpots

The Friday Mega Millions jackpot ranks as the 6th-largest cash value in world history.

1. Powerball: $997.6 million cash, Nov. 7, 2022 ($2.0401 billion annuity) - California
2. Powerball: $983.5 million cash, Jan. 13, 2016 ($1.5864 billion annuity) - California, Florida, Tennessee
3. Mega Millions: $877.8 million cash, Oct. 23, 2018 ($1.537 billion annuity) - South Carolina
4. Mega Millions: $780.5 million cash, Jul. 29, 2022 ($1.337 billion annuity) - Illinois
5. Mega Millions: $776.6 million cash, Jan. 22, 2021 ($1.05 billion annuity) - Michigan
6. Mega Millions: $723.5 million cash, Jan. 13, 2023 ($1.348 billion annuity) - Maine
7. Powerball: $546.8 million cash, Jan. 20, 2021 ($731.1 million annuity) - Maryland
8. Powerball: $496 million cash, Oct. 4, 2021 ($699.8 million annuity) - California
9. Powerball: $480.5 million cash, Aug. 23, 2017 ($758.7 million annuity) - Massachusetts
10. Powerball: $477 million cash, Mar. 27, 2019 ($768.4 million annuity) - Wisconsin
11. Mega Millions: $471 million cash, Mar. 30, 2012 ($656 million annuity) - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
12. Powerball: $450.2 million cash, Jan. 5, 2022 ($632.6 million annuity) - California, Wisconsin
13. Powerball: $396.2 million cash, Oct. 27, 2018 ($687.8 million annuity) - Iowa, New York
14. Powerball: $384.7 million cash, Nov. 28, 2012 ($587.5 million annuity) - Arizona, Missouri
15. Powerball: $381.1 million cash, Feb. 11, 2015 ($564.1 million annuity) - North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Texas
16. Mega Millions: $378 million cash, Jul. 8, 2016 ($536 million annuity) - Indiana
17. Powerball: $370.9 million cash, May 18, 2013 ($590.5 million annuity) - Florida
18. Powerball: $352 million cash, Jan. 6, 2018 ($559.7 million annuity) - New Hampshire
19. Mega Millions: $349.3 million cash, May 21, 2021 ($516 million annuity) - Pennsylvania
20. Mega Millions: $347.6 million cash, Dec. 17, 2013 ($648 million annuity) - California, Georgia
21. Powerball: $341.7 million cash, Jul. 30, 2016 ($487 million annuity) - New Hampshire
22. Mega Millions: $340 million cash, Jun. 7, 2019 ($522 million annuity) - California
23. Mega Millions: $324 million cash, Mar. 30, 2018 ($533 million annuity) - New Jersey
24. Mega Millions: $320.5 million cash, Jul. 24, 2018 ($543 million annuity) - California
25. Mega Millions: $319.9 million cash, Jun. 9, 2020 ($414 million annuity) - Arizona

The number of cash value jackpots in the top 25, by lottery game, are:

• Powerball: 13
• Mega Millions: 12