While only one person may have claimed the $1.58 billion grand prize in Tuesday’s Mega Millions drawing, seven other players across the country found themselves becoming instant millionaires.
In total, seven players won the Mega Millions’ secondary prize of at least $1 million by matching the first five lottery balls pulled on Tuesday night.
Two of the tickets, which played the Megaplier, were sold in North Carolina and Florida and won $2 million prizes, the lottery shared in a press release.
Five tickets also won at least $1 million, matching the first five numbers alone in Pennsylvania, California, and West Virginia, and on two tickets sold in Texas.
However, the California ticket will earn its owner a little more than $1 million thanks to prizes varying in the state. The California State Lottery shared that the ticket is actually worth $3.38 million.
The odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot is 1 in 302,575,350. To win the secondary $1 million prize, the odds drop to 1 in 12,607,306.
Still, the winnings aren’t all going to those who bought their Mega Millions tickets, as the government first has to take its share.
With the lottery comes a mandatory 24% federal withholding, which is taken from the prize before the winner sees a penny of their new fortune.
For the jackpot winner, the 24% isn’t the only tax they will face, as they will also be responsible for an additional 13% tax, thanks to the winnings pushing them into a new tax bracket.
On top of that, depending on the state the winners live in, there may also be more money sapped from their winnings. Some states don’t tax lottery winnings, while others do when exceeding a certain amount, most often $5,000 and sometimes up to 10%.
Friday’s jackpot will now reset to $20 million.
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