Winning $355M Mega Millions Lottery Tickets Sold in Idaho, Wash.

Two Mega Millions jackpot tickets matching all the numbers in Tuesday night's $355 million drawing were sold in Idaho and Washington state, lottery officials confirmed this morning.
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The numbers drawn in the fourth largest jackpot in U.S. history were: 4, 8, 15, 25, 47 and mega ball number 42.

"Idaho is a very lucky place," state Lottery Director Jeff Anderson said in a news release. "We are encouraging everyone who has played Mega Millions to check their tickets carefully for winners.

"We are also recommending all our players sign the back of their ticket prior to presenting it for payment. These tickets are bearer instruments and we want to ensure our winners protect their play."

The winner will split the $355 million jackpot (about $177.5 million each) with the Washington winner, according to lottery officials.

Mega Millions is played in 41 states, the nation's capital and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The jackpot grew to such a huge sum because Friday night's drawing failed to produce a winner for the multi-state lottery's top prize, which was estimated to be $290 million.

It had reached $355 million after 15 consecutive drawings that started Nov. 12.

Mega Millions jackpots begin with $12 million and roll over to the next drawing until there is a winner.

A winner of the jackpot may receive the prize in a cash option of about $208.3 million.

Other smaller monetary prizes can range from $2 to $250,000, depending on how many numbers are matched.

'Lost' Connection?

While the winners of Tuesday's jackpot are still a mystery, the dreams of hopeful players are filled with optimism, which is better than the fate of the Hugo Reyes character who suffered a string of bad luck after winning the lottery on "Lost."

Hugo "Hurley" Reyes (played by actor Jorge Garcia) may have been the unluckiest lottery winner on the ABC television series "Lost" but had you played his numbers in Tuesday night's Mega Millions drawing, you would have won $150.

The numbers drawn in the $355 million jackpot were: 4, 8, 15, 25, 47 and mega ball number 42.

The numbers Reyes used to win $156 million were: 4, 8, 15, 16, 23 and 42, four out of the six numbers picked on Tuesday.

The numbers played a pivotal role throughout the series; from Reyes' personal tragedies like the death of his grandfather to the appearances on the island during crucial turning points in the storyline.