An individual residing in Ohio has become a millionaire this week, courtesy of the Mega Millions lottery. OHGamblers.com has the latest info:
A ticket sold in Ohio emerged as a $1 million winner in the Friday, June 9 drawing. Simultaneously, another ticket sold in Indiana claimed a $3 million prize. These two tickets represented the highest payouts for that particular drawing, while participants eagerly vied for the $240 million jackpot.
How the matching winning works
To secure a $1 million prize in the Mega Millions lottery, a ticket must match all five of the white balls drawn, but not the yellow Mega Ball. Matching all six numbers leads to winning the jackpot.
The winning ticket for the Ohio Lottery was purchased at a Sunoco gas station in Moraine. If you happened to buy a ticket from there, it is advisable to check your numbers. The Lottery can only identify where a winning ticket was sold; they are unaware of the winner until the prize is claimed.
The Ohio lottery winning number
The winning numbers for the drawing on Friday, June 19, were 3-19-53-60-69, with the Mega Ball being 13.
Notably, the Indiana Mega Millions winner’s prize was tripled due to the utilization of the Megaplier feature. Although the Indiana ticket matched the same five numbers, it secured a prize three times larger.
The Megaplier is an optional $1 add-on to a lottery ticket that multiplies all prizes except for the jackpot. A Megaplier number is also selected during each drawing, determining the multiplication factor for those prizes. In the drawing mentioned earlier, the Megaplier was 3x.
With the Megaplier, the second-tier prize can reach up to $5 million. The possible multipliers are 2x, 3x, 4x, and the most infrequent one, 5x.
Currently, the Mega Millions jackpot continues to soar to impressive heights.
Remarkable sums
Both Mega Millions and Powerball jackpots have reached remarkable sums. For the upcoming drawing on Friday, June 16, the estimated top prize for Mega Millions is $281 million, with a cash value of $145.2 million. If no one wins the jackpot, the prize will continue to grow.
As of Wednesday, June 14, the Powerball jackpot is a staggering $340 million, with a cash option of $175.5 million.
Winners have the choice to receive the cash value as a lump sum payment or opt for an annuity paid out in smaller annual installments over a span of 30 years.
The odds of winning the Ohio lottery
The odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot in Ohio are exceedingly slim. Any individual ticket has a probability of approximately 1 in 302.6 million of matching all six drawn numbers. On the other hand, winning the second-tier prize is more feasible but still quite rare, with odds of 1 in 12.6 million.
Beyond those prize tiers, the awards diminish significantly. The third-tier prize, without the Megaplier, amounts to $10,000. The odds of matching four of the five white balls plus the Mega Ball to secure that prize are slightly better than 1 in 1 million.
The lower-tier prizes range from $2 to $500. The chances of winning any prize on a Mega Millions ticket are 1 in 24.
Since the launch of the Mega Millions game in 2002, Ohio has seen 20 jackpot winners. The most recent Ohio jackpot, which was also the largest, was won by an individual who purchased their ticket at Giant Eagle in Mentor, winning $372 million in the drawing on December 17. The cash value of that prize, before tax withholding, amounted to $253 million.
Ohio Powerball jackpot winner claimed locally
Moreover, an Ohio resident won the most recent Powerball jackpot, worth $252.6 million, on April 19. However, they are yet to claim their prize.
In Ohio, nearly 10,000 licensed lottery retailers can purchase Mega Millions tickets. Each ticket costs $2, with the option to add an additional $1 for the Megaplier.
Mega Millions tickets are available in all states except Alabama, Nevada, Utah, Alaska, and Hawaii. This leaves 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands where tickets can be purchased. However, not all states selling Mega Millions tickets offer the Megaplier option.
Where Ohioans can buy their lottery number
For added convenience, Ohio residents can purchase tickets online through third-party providers. While the Ohio Lottery does not offer an official online option for ticket purchases, two companies provide mobile apps that enable online ticket purchases at no additional cost.
