Some in the group of 11 friends have known each other for 40 years, and every week, Giang Kim Nguyen buys a Mega Millions lottery ticket.
Last week, she and her group of friends from Arlington, Virginia, won US$1 million ($1.5m) in the big Mega Millions drawing that produced a jackpot of US$1.54 billion, lottery officials in Virginia said.
They call themselves the "Awesome Eleven".
Nguyen bought the ticket at the Giant Food supermarket along Dale Boulevard in Dale City. The ticket matched the first five winning numbers.
It missed only the Mega Ball number.
The friends' ticket was one of two in Virginia that won US$1m in the big lottery drawing. And another US$1m ticket was sold in the District of Columbia.
De Hieu Vo, who lives in Woodbridge, Virginia, and is one of the "Awesome Eleven," said he sent a text to the group saying, "We won!" along with a photo of the winning ticket.
"They all thought I was kidding," he said.