Summer festivals are really taking off in Florida.
On Tuesday night, someone in the state hit the Mega Millions jackpot, landing a staggering $800 million. This marks the biggest win of the year and the 10th largest in the history of the game.
The winning numbers were 34, 48, 49, 59, 70, and the gold Mega Ball was 12.
At this point, it hasn’t been revealed where the winning ticket was bought.
The winner has the option to take the full $800 million or a lump sum of $344.2 million before tax deductions. Most jackpot winners tend to go for the lump sum.
If opting for the cash, remember, about 24% will automatically be withheld for federal taxes, bringing the total down to roughly $261.6 million.
In addition, two other tickets were noteworthy, as they won significant prizes by matching all five white ball numbers. One $3 million ticket was sold at Corner Market in Buffalo, New York, while another worth $5 million was purchased in Illinois.
This latest jackpot is the 10th largest ever in Mega Millions, surpassing the $656 million jackpot that was split among three winners in Illinois, Kansas, and Maryland back in March 2012.
This win is the third grand prize awarded in 2026, breaking a streak of 38 ties, and it’s the first since March 17 when the Happy Trails Trust took home a $60 million prize from Van Wert, Ohio.
Just a week ago, on March 10th, another anonymous player from Illinois secured a grand prize of $536 million. Both of those winners chose the cash option, netting $27.1 million and $245.6 million, respectively.
Florida has now claimed six Mega Millions grand prizes, with the last major win happening in August 2023. During that period, two winning tickets were sold across three drawings.
The first big win occurred on August 8, when Saltines Holdings, LLC from Neptune Beach captured a record-breaking $1.62 billion jackpot. This remains the largest jackpot ever in Mega Millions history.
According to the state lottery, a second drawing on August 15 resulted in a $39 million pot, but none of those numbers were claimed.
For those who didn’t win the grand prize on Tuesday, there’s another chance to play with an estimated $663 million Powerball drawing coming up on Wednesday.
