$1 million Mega Millions lottery ticket sold in Virginia

A Mega Millions ticket worth $1 million has been sold in Virginia, according to lottery officials.

That ticket matched the first five winning numbers and missed only the Mega Ball number. However, no ticket in Virginia or anywhere else matched all six numbers to win the $785 million jackpot. So the jackpot for Friday’s Mega Millions drawing rolls to an estimated $940 million.

The $1 million winning ticket was bought at Clearbrook Mini Mart, located at 5469 Franklin Road in Roanoke County.

This ticket is one of only six nationwide to match the first five numbers in Tuesday’s drawing. The store receives a $10,000 bonus from the Virginia Lottery for selling the winning ticket.

The winning numbers for the January 3 drawing were 25-29-33-41-44, and the Mega Ball number was 18.

Whoever has the winning ticket has 180 days from the drawing date to claim the prize. The Virginia Lottery advises that before doing anything else, the winner should immediately sign the back of the ticket to establish ownership. When the person is ready to claim the million-dollar prize, he or she should contact the Virginia Lottery.

Mega Millions drawings are held Tuesday and Friday nights at 11:00. The odds of winning the $1,000,000 prize in Mega Millions are 1 in 12,607,306.