Historic $800M Jackpot Up For Grabs In Mega Millions As GA Winner Scores $2M

A lottery player in Georgia became a $2 million victor after winning the top prize on a scratch-off, lottery officials said Tuesday.

The winning Jackpots Galore ticket was bought Friday at Junior Food Stores of West Florida in Martinez, the Georgia Lottery Corporation said.

This comes as both Mega Millions and Powerball jackpots continue to swell. No one has successfully hit either jackpot, with the Mega Millions sitting at $800 million and the Powerball sitting at $663 million.

Cash options for the Mega Millions and Powerball are $344.2 million and $290.4 million respectively.

The Mega Millions jackpot is the 10th-largest in game history and the largest in the U.S. this year, lottery officials confirmed to Patch.

The next Mega Millions drawing is at 11 p.m. Tuesday, and the next Powerball drawing is at 11 p.m. Wednesday.

The last time a Georgia player won the Mega Millions jackpot was on Nov. 14, 2025.

A ticket bought in Newnan was worth $983 million with a cash option of $453.6 million. The player remained anonymous.

Mega Millions tickets are $5 each, with a built-in multiplier feature added in April 2025 that automatically increases non-jackpot prizes by 2, 3, 4, 5 or 10 times.

RELATED: Mega Millions Jackpot Soars To Historic $672M After $4M Win In GA

Previously, the base ticket was $2, and the multiplier was an optional $1 add-on in most states.

To play the Mega Millions and Powerball in Georgia, hopefuls must buy their tickets by 10 p.m. on draw nights. Drawings are held at 11 p.m.

The GLC provides lists of retailers offering tickets. Players only need to submit their zip codes to find nearby locations.

Tickets can also be purchased via the Georgia Lottery app.

Here are few recent lottery winners in Georgia:

• A player won $150,000 in Saturday's Fantasy 5 drawing by matching all five winning numbers. The ticket was purchased at Short Stop in Sylvania.
• Two players won $50,000 each in Saturday's Powerball drawing by matching four of the five white-ball numbers and the Powerball. One ticket was purchased at Kroger in Acworth. The other ticket was purchased through the Georgia Lottery mobile app by a player in Talking Rock.
• One player won $20,000 in Friday's Mega Millions drawing by matching four of the five white-ball numbers and the Mega Ball. There was a built-in 2x multiplier. The ticket was purchased at Chevron Circle K in Loganville.
• A player in Athens won $15,000 playing Shocking 6s diggi game Friday.
• A Riverdale player won $20,000 playing Soccer Fortune diggi game on Friday.
• A player in Lincolnton won $10,000 playing Keno! on Saturday through the Georgia Lottery mobile app.

All funding from the Georgia Lottery's digital games, scratch-offs and other games benefit education in the Peach State, lottery officials said.

Online winning tickets have an expiration date of 180 days from the drawing date while instant ticket winners have 90 days from the expired date to claim prizes. Instructions on how to receive prizes are here.

Georgia takes 5.75 percent in state taxes and 24 percent in federal taxes for winnings more than $5,000.

"The (Georgia Lottery Corporation) reports to the IRS and Georgia Department of Revenue the names of winners of prizes above $600. ... Additionally, the GLC is required to check for and deduct any outstanding child support payments for prizes of $2,500 and above and student loans and state taxes for prizes of $5,000 and above, net of wager or ticket cost," lottery officials said on the Georgia Lottery website.