The question "Has anybody won?" gave way to the question "Who?" yesterday after organisers of the "The Big Game" lottery, played in seven US states, announced that two as yet unknown winners are to share the record $350 million prize.
The lucky tickets were sold in Michigan and Illinois, according to the organisers, but the identity of their owners was not immediately known.
A lottery organiser said the names of the winners may not be revealed for days or even weeks as people make arrangements on how to handle the sudden windfall.
The Michigan lottery commissioner, Mr Don Gilmer, said it was known that the Michigan winner had chosen the annuity option, which - given the fact that the prize will have to be shared with the winner in Illinois - means he or she will receive annual instalments of about $7 million before tax for the next 26 years.
The Illinois winner or winners - who bought the ticket at a convenience store named Sweeney's Food Works in Lake Zurich, a small town north of Chicago - will get the other half.
In the meantime, it was the owner of the store, Mr John Sweeney, who became the first known beneficiary of the gambling extravaganza by receiving a cheque for $1.8 million.
"Our retailers get a 1 per cent bonus for selling the winning ticket," explained Ms Anne Plohr, a spokeswoman for the Illinois Lottery Commission. Not so in Michigan, where the rules are different: Mr George Kassab, the owner of a Utica, Michigan variety store which sold the winning ticket, will get $2,000.
But Mr Kassab, who enjoyed his 15 minutes of fame in the glare of television lights yesterday, said he wasn't worried. "I hope the winner would come out and give me a present without asking," he said.
Despite obvious security concerns, the winners cannot remain anonymous or claim their prizes by proxy, said the organisers.
"Their name is released," said Ms Rose Stevensof the Michigan Lottery Commission. "They don't have a choice on that and they know that when they purchase the ticket." The same disclosure rules are in effect in Illinois.
The odds of winning in Tuesday's Big Game were one in more than 76 million, which is much smaller than the odds of being hit by lightning.