$1.34B MegaMillions Winners: 2 Illinois Residents Claim Prize

ILLINOIS — Two Illinois residents who agreed to share more than $1.3 billion if they managed to match all six numbers on one of the nation’s biggest lottery prizes have claimed the win nearly eight weeks after they purchased the ticket in Des Plaines.

An Illinois Lottery spokeswoman confirmed Wednesday that the two people, who are choosing to remain anonymous, claimed the $1.34 billion Mega Millions prize less than a week before the deadline to choose how to receive payment arrived.

The winning ticket, sold in July at a Des Plaines Speedway convenience store, is the third-largest lottery prize in U.S. history, lottery officials said. Lottery officials said the two winners have been working with professional and personal financial advisers and have agreed to take their winnings in one lump sum of $780.5 million.

The spokeswoman told Patch that the odds of matching all six numbers on a MegaMillions ticket is 1 in 303 million. The winning numbers were 13-36-45-57-67, Mega Ball: 14. Illinois is one of several states where lottery winners claiming more than $250,000 can choose to remain anonymous.

Lottery officials said they are unable to divulge any information about the winners after they announced their plans not to publicly reveal their identity. Lottery officials said only that the winners are "over the moon."

Illinois Lottery claims manager Luis Rodriguez worked with the winners’ attorneys through the claims process. Rodriguez said in his five years with the Illinois Lottery, this is the biggest prize he has seen awarded.

“When we met with the winners’ lawyers, there was a real buzz of excitement in the room,” Rodriguez said in a news release issued on Wednesday.

“It’s a surreal feeling giving away this amount of money and knowing what a huge impact this is going to make on the winners’ lives and for others close to them as well.”