By Todd Northrop

After a run of 31 drawings without a jackpot winner, the 32nd drawing of the multi-state Mega Millions game produced a single $1.58 billion winner last night when one lottery ticket sold in Florida matched all five numbers plus the Mega Ball.

It was the 8th time a lottery jackpot had grown to more than $1 billion, and the seventh time a single ticket won $1 billion or more.

The winner of the unimaginable haul will choose between being paid $1.58 billion in 30 annually-increasing payments over 29 years or the lump-sum cash value of $783.3 million.

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

According to USA Mega's Mega Millions Jackpot Analysis, after all taxes are paid, the winner either will receive $996.5 million by the end of 29 years, or $493.5 million in cash all at once. Because Florida has no state taxes on lottery prizes, the winner only has federal taxes to worry about.

However, both annuity and cash jackpot values are still estimates, and according to a statement released by the Mega Millions group, the actual number may turn out to be larger once all sales are accounted for.

Per Florida law, the winner has 180 days from the date of the drawing to come forward to claim the prize, but only sixty days if they want the cash option. The winner will have to claim the prize in person at the Florida Lottery headquarters in Tallahassee.

The winning ticket — which was a quick pick, according to the Florida Lottery — was sold at the Publix grocery store at 630 Atlantic Boulevard in Neptune Beach, roughly 15 miles east of Jacksonville. The retailer will receive a $100,000 bonus commission for selling the jackpot-winning Mega Millions ticket.

The Mega Millions winning numbers for Tuesday, August 8, 2023, were 13, 19, 20, 32, and 33, with Mega Ball number 14. The Megaplier was 2.

It's hard to imagine the winner getting much sleep Tuesday 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 eventually will find out the identity of the winner, although Florida does have partial privacy laws that allow a winner to delay release of their information for a period of 90 days following the claim.

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, 7 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $1,000,000 prize: 1 from California, 1 from Florida, 1 from North Carolina, 1 from Pennsylvania, 2 from Texas, and 1 from West Virginia.

Two of the second prize-winning tickets — the tickets sold in Florida and North Carolina — were purchased with the Megaplier option for an extra $1, multiplying their prizes to $2 million because the Megaplier number 2 was drawn.

The California second prize winner will claim a prize of $3,383,371 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.

166 tickets matched four white numbers plus the Mega Ball and won $10,000. Of those tickets, 28 were purchased with the Megaplier option, increasing the prize to $20,000, and 29 were sold in California, where the prize was $9,246 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 $45 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 incredibly lucky winner was Edwin Castro, who claimed the prize in February of 2023, providing minimal public information about himself.  What little is known about Castro comes from public filings, and includes the purchase of a house or two, as well as being the subject of dubious lawsuits that are unfortunately predictable these days. 

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 $1.8 billion.

With the jackpot being won Tuesday, the next Mega Millions annuity jackpot estimate for Friday's drawing 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 $1.58 billion Mega Millions jackpot stands as the third-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: $1.58 billion, Aug. 8, 2023 (31 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Florida
4. Mega Millions: $1.537 billion, Oct. 23, 2018 (25 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - South Carolina
5. Mega Millions: $1.348 billion, Jan. 13, 2023 (25 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Maine
6. Mega Millions: $1.337 billion, Jul. 29, 2022 (29 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Illinois
7. Powerball: $1.0798 billion, Jul. 19, 2023 (38 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - California
8. Mega Millions: $1.05 billion, Jan. 22, 2021 (36 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Michigan
9. Powerball: $768.4 million, Mar. 27, 2019 (25 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Wisconsin
10. Powerball: $758.7 million, Aug. 23, 2017 (20 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Massachusetts
11. Powerball: $754.6 million, Feb. 6, 2023 (33 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Washington
12. Powerball: $731.1 million, Jan. 20, 2021 (35 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Maryland
13. Powerball: $699.8 million, Oct. 4, 2021 (40 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - California
14. Powerball: $687.8 million, Oct. 27, 2018 (21 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Iowa, New York
15. Mega Millions: $656 million, Mar. 30, 2012 (18 rollovers, starting at $12 million) - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
16. Mega Millions: $648 million, Dec. 17, 2013 (21 rollovers, starting at $12 million) - California, Georgia
17. Powerball: $632.6 million, Jan 5, 2022 (39 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - California, Wisconsin
18. Powerball: $590.5 million, May 18, 2013 (13 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Florida
19. Powerball: $587.5 million, Nov. 28, 2012 (15 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Arizona, Missouri
20. Powerball: $564.1 million, Feb. 11, 2015 (20 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Texas
21. Powerball: $559.7 million, Jan. 6, 2018 (20 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - New Hampshire
22. Mega Millions: $543 million, Jul. 24, 2018 (22 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - California
23. Mega Millions: $536 million, Jul. 8, 2016 (34 rollovers, starting at $15 million) - Indiana
24. Mega Millions: $533 million, Mar. 30, 2018 (23 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - New Jersey
25. Mega Millions: $522 million, Jun. 7, 2019 (24 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - California

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

• Powerball: 14
• Mega Millions: 11

Top 25 cash value jackpots

The Friday Mega Millions jackpot ranks as the 4th-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: $783.3 million cash, Aug. 8, 2023 ($1.58 billion annuity) - Florida
5. Mega Millions: $780.5 million cash, Jul. 29, 2022 ($1.337 billion annuity) - Illinois
6. Mega Millions: $776.6 million cash, Jan. 22, 2021 ($1.05 billion annuity) - Michigan
7. Mega Millions: $723.5 million cash, Jan. 13, 2023 ($1.348 billion annuity) - Maine
8. Powerball: $558.1 million cash, Jul. 19, 2023 ($1.0798 billion annuity) - California
9. Powerball: $546.8 million cash, Jan. 20, 2021 ($731.1 million annuity) - Maryland
10. Powerball: $496 million cash, Oct. 4, 2021 ($699.8 million annuity) - California
11. Powerball: $480.5 million cash, Aug. 23, 2017 ($758.7 million annuity) - Massachusetts
12. Powerball: $477 million cash, Mar. 27, 2019 ($768.4 million annuity) - Wisconsin
13. Mega Millions: $471 million cash, Mar. 30, 2012 ($656 million annuity) - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
14. Powerball: $450.2 million cash, Jan. 5, 2022 ($632.6 million annuity) - California, Wisconsin
15. Powerball: $407.2 million cash, Feb. 6, 2023 ($754.6 million annuity) - Washington
16. Powerball: $396.2 million cash, Oct. 27, 2018 ($687.8 million annuity) - Iowa, New York
17. Powerball: $384.7 million cash, Nov. 28, 2012 ($587.5 million annuity) - Arizona, Missouri
18. Powerball: $381.1 million cash, Feb. 11, 2015 ($564.1 million annuity) - North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Texas
19. Mega Millions: $378 million cash, Jul. 8, 2016 ($536 million annuity) - Indiana
20. Powerball: $370.9 million cash, May 18, 2013 ($590.5 million annuity) - Florida
21. Powerball: $352 million cash, Jan. 6, 2018 ($559.7 million annuity) - New Hampshire
22. Mega Millions: $349.3 million cash, May 21, 2021 ($516 million annuity) - Pennsylvania
23. Mega Millions: $347.6 million cash, Dec. 17, 2013 ($648 million annuity) - California, Georgia
24. Powerball: $341.7 million cash, Jul. 30, 2016 ($487 million annuity) - New Hampshire
25. Mega Millions: $340 million cash, Jun. 7, 2019 ($522 million annuity) - California

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

• Powerball: 15
• Mega Millions: 10