CORTLAND, Ill. — After a month of waiting, a lucky Illinois resident claimed their $349 million Mega Millions jackpot on Wednesday.
The winner, who chose to stay anonymous and has been given the nickname “Blessed,” won the jackpot in the March 25 drawing.
“We took a chance and bought a single Quick Pick ticket,” the winner told Mega Millions. “We’re absolutely ecstatic and feel incredibly blessed. We plan to use this money to do good – this unbelievable prize will truly be the gift that keeps on giving.”
The winning ticket was sold at Casey’s General Store in Cortland, Illinois. The store received a $500,000 bonus for selling the ticket.
This is Illinois’ fourth Mega Millions jackpot win in the past four years, with the largest being $1.34 billion in July 2022. A portion of every Mega Millions ticket sold in Illinois goes to support K-12 schools in the state.
Earlier this month, Mega Millions saw its third jackpot win of the year, which was also the first under the new $5 ticket price. The new rules bring several changes, including larger starting jackpots, faster-growing prizes, and more substantial non-jackpot winnings. The price of tickets increased from $2 to $5.
Under the new rules, the average jackpot is now expected to exceed $800 million, up from about $450 million. Jackpots will reset at $50 million, compared to the previous $20 million.
What Are the New Mega Millions Odds?
The odds of winning the top prize have improved slightly, but they are still extremely low. The chances of winning the jackpot under the new system are 1 in 290,472,336, compared to 1 in 302,575,350 before the changes. This improvement comes from removing one gold Mega Ball, reducing the total number from 25 to 24.
Joshua Johnston, Lead Director of the Mega Millions Consortium, said in a statement, “Beyond big jackpots, players told us they want bigger non-jackpot prizes, and that’s exactly what this new game delivers.”
In the new game, players who previously won $2 for matching one or more numbers can now win between $10 and $50. Those who would have won $500 under the old rules can now win at least double that amount, with some winnings increasing up to ten times.
Mega Millions and Powerball are available in 45 states, Washington, D.C., the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. The price increase marks the second change in 20 years, with the last increase in 2017.
