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Two share $370m US lottery
07/03/2007 19:39 - (SA)
New York - At least two people will share a $370m lottery jackpot in the United States, said officials on Wednesday after the record prize drew in millions of players across the country.
Mardele Cohen, Ohio lottery commission spokesperson, said: "Right now we know there are two winning tickets, one in New Jersey and one in Georgia."
Technical problems in California meant it was not yet known if any other tickets were sold with the winning numbers.
The Mega Millions top prize had rolled over 15 times without a winner, with the previous draw last Friday offering a relatively modest $267m.
But snowballing sales of tickets pushed up the jackpot and sparked further interest in the draw, with the one-in-176-million chance of picking the winning six numbers apparently not putting people off.
Reports said that one million tickets were sold in one hour on Tuesday in New York - one of the 12 states where the Mega Millions is drawn.
The biggest winner is the US treasury, which will take $130m in taxes from the draw. The lucky ticket holders will also have to pay state taxes on their winnings, with the amount depending on where they live.
Last year eight workers at a Nebraska meat processing plant shared a jackpot of $365m, which was the highest lottery win paid out until this week.
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