Somebody in Illinois had a good weekend

One Mega Millions ticket sold at an Illinois gas station matched all six numbers in the lottery’s Friday drawing, entitling its holder to an estimated $1.337 billion jackpot, the third-biggest in US history.

🎰 Lotteries, a history… Lotteries held a prominent place in colonial-era America, according to the National Gambling Impact Study Commission, being frequently used to finance public works projects such as paving streets, constructing wharves, and even building churches.

In the 1870s, several states began to outlaw lotteries (and most gambling) following a series of massive scandals in the Louisiana lottery that included bribery of state and federal officials.

• Its revival began in 1964, when New Hampshire became the first state to re-establish a state lottery to raise cash for local jurisdictions… and the project went so well it kicked off a snowball effect. 
• At the moment, 45 states plus DC, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands have an official lottery.

🤔 So, what’s next?… The anonymous winner, who hadn’t submitted a claim as of Sunday night, can take their winnings in one of two ways: lump sum or annuity. The lump sum option constitutes a lower overall payout, but would require an immediate transfer of funds – in this instance, a cool $780.5 million (minus Uncle Sam’s cut, of course).

• The annuity route would consist of a series of increasing payments, doled out annually over the next 29 years.

+Fun fact: George Washington, Ben Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson all sponsored unsuccessful lotteries over their lives.