Doc Louallen/USA TODAY
A lucky group of individuals from South Dakota made history by winning the colossal $360 million Mega Millions jackpot in October.
Blue Yucca Trust from Rapid City, South Dakota, claimed a $360 million Mega Millions jackpot that they won on October 6, 2023. The ticket, purchased at a gas station in San Angelo, Texas, is the biggest lottery win in the history of Texas, the Texas Lottery announced on Wednesday.
Even though the Blue Yucca Trust group is located in South Dakota, the state where a group member purchased the winning Mega Millions ticket gets credit for the winner. This has happened numerous times this year, including on October 7, when a New Hampshire resident bought a ticket in Massachusetts and won a $1 million prize.
The winning ticket The Blue Yucca Trust brought matched all numbers 12, 24, 46, 57, 66, and Mega Ball 22. They purchased at Stripes No. 5031 in San Angelo. The Stripes convenience store received a $1 million bonus from the Lottery for selling the winning ticket.
The Blue Yucca Trust chose their cash value when purchasing their ticket. The claimant received $157,367,045 before taxes, setting a new record for the largest prize awarded to a single Texas Lottery player.
Before this win, the last time a Texas lottery player won the Mega Millions jackpot was on September 24, 2019, when a resident of Leander won an advertised jackpot of $227 million.
According to the Lottery Post, the first person to win the Mega Millions jackpot in Texas was Ut Van Nguyen of Carrollton. He claimed a prize of $101 million from the drawing held on October 1, 2004, shortly after Texas introduced the multi-state game in 2003.
The next drawing for the Mega Millions jackpot, which is currently worth $267 million, will take place on Friday, November 17, at 10:00 pm CT.