Peachy start to the New Year.
A mysterious Georgia lottery player has claimed the historic $983 million Mega Millions jackpot, which is the largest in the state’s history.
The player, who remained anonymous but lives in Georgia, stepped forward on Jan. 2 and chose the $453.6 million cash option before taxes, according to lottery officials.
The unidentified player was the only ticketholder to match all six numbers during the drawing on Nov. 14, 2025. The winning numbers were 1, 8, 11, 12, 57 with the gold Mega ball 7.
The new multi-millionaire regularly plays the lottery and was reminded to purchase a ticket after seeing the life-changing prize on a billboard.
The winner says they plan for their new fortune is to be generational while giving back to “good causes.”
“They are thankful to be in a position to give,” the lottery said of the winner.
The ticketholder said they play the lottery because it supports Pre-K in the state and the Georgia Lottery-funded HOPE scholarship after one of their family members benefited from the scholarship.
Publix Super Market at Arbor Springs Plaza in Newnan sold the winning ticket and is eligible for the $50,000 retailer incentive bonus.
“We are thrilled to celebrate Georgia’s record-breaking jackpot winner and their life-changing start to the new year,” Georgia Lottery Corp. President and CEO Gretchen Corbin said Tuesday. “This historic jackpot was also significant for Georgia’s students, families and communities who benefit from HOPE and Pre-K. We congratulate our winner and appreciate the support of our players and retail partners during this exciting jackpot run.”
The November drawing was the eighth-largest jackpot in Mega Millions history and the largest lottery jackpot won in the Peach State.
There had been 39 consecutive winless drawings between the jackpot winners, the longest drought in Mega Millions history, and the largest since the game was restructured in April, when game prices rose from $2 to $5.
The revamp, marketed as “bigger and better,” was created to offer larger prizes for all non-jackpot tier winners, better odds to win the jackpot, and a larger starting jackpot of $50 million, instead of the original $20 million.
The odds of hitting a jackpot in the newly revamped game are 1 in 290,472,336.
The previous Georgia record holder was the $478 million Powerball drawing won on Oct. 23, 2024.
Mega Millions’ jackpot currently sits at $180 million for Tuesday night’s drawing.
The winning numbers are 9, 39, 47, 58, 68 and the Mega ball 24.
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