Mega Millions Jackpot: Billion-Dollar Winning Ticket Sold in Maine Town With a Population of 6,000

The 6,000 residents of one New England town have only one thing on their mind today — who just became a billionaire.

Lebanon is a tiny town in Southern Maine that is making major headlines nationwide after selling the single winning ticket during Friday's Mega Million drawing.

The jackpot? A whopping $1.35 billion, making it the fourth-highest cash prize in lottery history. Only two Powerball jackpots ($2.04 billion in Nov. 2022,  $1.586 billion in Jan. 2016) and one Mega Millions jackpot ($1.537 billion in Oct. 2018) have paid out more money.

The winner purchased the ticket at the Hometown Gas & Grill, which is the one gas station in the town that has just three traffic lights.

"My store had sold the one and only winning ticket for the $1.5 billion jackpot," owner Fred Cotreau tells Inside Edition.

The locals who had gathered at the popular hangout all made it clear that they were hoping it was a resident, and not just someone driving through town, who had claimed the big jackpot.

As of Monday afternoon, the winner remained a mystery.

One slight bummer though for the big winner: the gas station is just one mile from the New Hampshire border, where the winner would not have to pay income tax.

No matter where they live, the lottery winner will be a billionaire for only a few seconds, with taxes quickly cutting their take down to the nine-figure range, making them simply a millionaire.

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