Mega Millions Crowns First Winner In The $5 Ticket Era

The first jackpot winner in the era of $5 Mega Millions tickets has been crowned, as an Ohio ticket-buyer hit with a sextet of birthday numbers Friday night: white balls 5, 13, 15, 17, and 28, and a gold Mega Ball of 1.

The winning ticket — sold at a Giant Eagle supermarket in South Euclid, which sits about about 15 miles east of Cleveland — is worth $112 million, or a cash payout of $49.3 million.

The winner picked their own numbers, according to the Mega Millions website, which means there’s a decent chance some lucky Ohioan has friends and family with the perfect birthdays.

“Moments like this are exactly why we reimagined the game,” Joshua Johnston, lead director of the Mega Millions Consortium, said in a press release. “This jackpot win — and the millions of dollars going to non-jackpot winners every drawing — is the result of years of planning, collaboration, and listening to what players want. We’re proud of what this game is already delivering for our players and beneficiaries and are looking forward to the future big wins to come.”

This was the fourth drawing since the dawn of the $5 price point, and total prizes awarded during that four-draw run were $27.5 million, which Mega Millions spins as being more than four times as much as the total prize amount would’ve been at the old $2 price point — though that calculation ignores the past existence of a Megaplier option, among other factors that make the comparison unscientific.

Lottery Geeks estimates 5.3 million tickets were sold for Friday’s drawing, a slight increase over the previous three draws.

The last time someone won the Mega Millions grand prize before this was March 25, when an Illinois customer hit the jackpot for $349 million.

The jackpot for the next drawing, Tuesday night, resets to the new base level: $50 million, or $22.4 million in cash. The previous bottom level was $20 million.

This marks the 21st time ever that a ticket sold in Ohio has won the Mega Millions jackpot.

Powerball now takes center stage

Monday night’s Powerball drawing is set at $139 million with a cash value of $63.8 million. 

Nobody won Saturday night’s drawing, when the numbers pulled were 7, 25, 37, 39, 63, and a red Powerball of 1.

There was one ticket-buyer in Nebraska, however, who matched all five white balls and won themselves a cool million for their troubles.

Lottery Geeks estimates 12.2 million tickets were sold for Saturday night’s drawing.

Tickets for Mega Millions cost $5, while Powerball tickets cost $2, with most states offering the multiplier option for Powerball — which impacts any prize won except the jackpot — for an additional $1. Mega Millions comes with an automatic multiplier for any prize except the jackpot.

Both Powerball and Mega Millions are legal in all states except Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada, and Utah. Tickets for both draw games are also sold in Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In Puerto Rico, customers can buy tickets for Powerball, but not for Mega Millions.

All-time biggest jackpots

Here is a list of the all-time top 10 U.S. lottery jackpots:

1. $2.04 billion, Powerball, Nov. 7, 2022, won in California
2. $1.76 billion, Powerball, Oct. 11, 2023, won in California
3. $1.6 billion, Mega Millions, Aug. 8, 2023, won in Florida
4. $1.59 billion, Powerball, Jan. 13, 2016, won in California, Florida, and Tennessee
5. $1.54 billion, Mega Millions, Oct. 23, 2018, won in South Carolina
6. $1.35 billion, Mega Millions, Jan. 13, 2023, won in Maine
7. $1.34 billion, Mega Millions, July 29, 2022, won in Illinois
8. $1.33 billion, Powerball, April 6, 2024, won in Oregon
9. $1.22 billion, Mega Millions, Dec. 27, 2024, won in California
10. $1.13 billion, Mega Millions, March 26, 2024, won in New Jersey

And here’s the all-time top 10 by lump-sum cash value:

1. $997.6 million, Powerball, Nov. 7, 2022, won in California
2. $983.5 million, Powerball, Jan. 13, 2016, won in California, Florida, and Tennessee
3. $877.8 million, Mega Millions, Oct. 23, 2018, won in South Carolina
4. $794.2 million, Mega Millions, Aug. 8, 2023, won in Florida
5. $780.5 million, Mega Millions, July 29, 2022, won in Illinois
6. $776.6 million, Mega Millions, Jan. 22, 2021, won in Michigan
7. $774.1 million, Powerball, Oct. 11, 2023, won in California
8. $723.5 million, Mega Millions, Jan. 13, 2023, won in Maine
9. $621 million, Powerball, April 6, 2024, won in Oregon
10. $571.9 million, Mega Millions, Dec. 27, 2024, won in California