Illinois Player Wins $344 Million Mega Millions Jackpot
Wednesday March 26th 2025A Mega Millions player from Illinois has become the game’s latest big winner after grabbing the jackpot on Tuesday, March 25. They can now look forward to claiming their grand prize, worth $344 million.
The jackpot had been rolling since a ticket sold in Arizona matched all the numbers in the $113 million draw that took place on January 17. After building up to more than $300 million in the space of two months, Tuesday’s draw proved to be incredibly lucky for one ticket holder.
The white balls drawn were 1, 5, 17, 39 and 62, while the gold Mega Ball was 8. There were more than 619,000 prizes won, including a $1 million payout to a player from Florida who matched all five main numbers and just missed out on the Mega Ball.
It was revealed shortly after the draw that the jackpot-winning ticket was sold at Casey’s General Store in Cortland, making it Illinois’ 16th top prize in Mega Millions.
The winner has one year to come forward and claim their money. They can decide to take the $344 million, minus taxes, as an annuity, or go for the lump-sum option of $159.1 million. Meanwhile, the jackpot will reset to $20 million for Friday’s draw.
Changes on the Way
While the jackpot could be won again in the next week or so, it is also possible that Tuesday’s big payout will be the last of this Mega Millions era, with the game set to change after the draw on April 4.
From April 5 onwards, the jackpot will always start at a minimum of $50 million, while the odds of winning will be better as the matrix is being updated - you’ll still pick five main numbers from 1 to 70, but the number range for the Mega Balls is being reduced from 25 to 24.
A built-in multiplier is replacing the option to add the Megaplier to a ticket. This means that non-jackpot prizes will always be increased - potentially by as much as 10 times. The multiplier is generated at random at the point of purchase so it is not the same for everyone.
To pay for all the enhancements, the cost of a ticket is going up from $2 to $5 (which includes the multiplier). This is also expected to help create bigger jackpots, as most of the money from ticket sales goes straight into the prize fund. More money from each ticket will also go towards good causes in participating states.
Mega Millions draws will continue to take place every Tuesday and Friday night. Keep up with the winning numbers as soon as they are available.
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