Winner of $1.6 Billion Mega Millions Jackpot Comes Forward in Florida

The winner of the $1.6 billion Mega Millions jackpot in August — the third-largest in U.S. history — has come forward to claim the prize, officials said Wednesday. In all, Mega Millions has had five prizes of more than a billion dollars.

Under a new Florida law, the winner’s name remains anonymous for 90 days from the date the prize was claimed, which was on Sept. 25, lottery officials said in an email.

The lottery did not confirm whether the winner took the lump sum or the annuity, and did not specify the estimated lump sum amount. In Florida, winners have to claim the lump sum within 60 days of the drawing.

They have up to 180 days if they choose to go with an annuity, which is paid out in 30 annual installments.

The jackpot is also subject to federal taxes. There’s no state income tax in Florida.

The winning ticket was sold at a Publix supermarket in Neptune Beach, a town along the Atlantic Coast near Jacksonville. The winning numbers on Aug. 8 were 13, 19, 20, 32, and 33 and the Mega Ball was 14.

The largest jackpot ever was a Powerball ticket in California worth a whopping $2.04 billion from the drawing on Nov. 8, 2022. The next largest was also a Powerball prize of $1.586 billion on Jan. 13, 2016.

That prize was split among three winning tickets sold in California, Florida, and Tennessee.