WASHINGTON – Friday the 13th proved lucky for one lottery player in the US state of Maine, whose winning ticket is worth an estimated US$1.35 billion (S$1.78 billion), Mega Millions officials announced on Saturday.

The winner’s identity has yet to be announced, but only one person matched all six numbers, thereby claiming the second-largest jackpot in Mega Millions history (someone in South Carolina won US$1.53 billion in 2018).

“Congratulations to the Maine State Lottery, which has just won its first-ever Mega Millions jackpot,” said Mr Pat McDonald, lead director of the Mega Millions Consortium. “It’s the fourth billion-dollar jackpot in Mega Millions history.”

The big win was the lottery’s seventh on a Friday the 13th – a date normally considered unlucky – since the game began in 2002.

In the latest drawing, Mega Millions said 14 people in 10 states matched the five white-ball numbers (30, 43, 45, 46, 61) to win US$1 million each, but only the single ticket-holder in the north-eastern state of Maine also guessed the gold Mega Ball number: 14.

The jackpot had been growing since Oct 14, when winning tickets in California and Florida shared a prize of US$502 million.

The next drawing is on Tuesday, with a jackpot set back to the starting value of US$20 million. AFP