Mega Millions Jackpot Lands on St. Patrick’s Day

When a lucky player in Illinois won the Mega Millions jackpot from the March 10 drawing, players were expecting the occasional jackpot lull. To their surprise, another win landed just two drawings later, netting a lucky ticket-holder in Ohio a life-changing $60 million.

A Short Jackpot Turnaround

According to Mega Millions officials, this was the very first time the jackpot had been won on St. Patrick’s Day. Representatives said that this must be the luck of the Irish playing part, since the jackpot landed only two drawings after the previous top prize was won. This was the shortest jackpot turnaround since August 2023 and marked an exciting period for the game.

Lottery officials added that this was even more exciting still due to the fact that the jackpot landed in Ohio, which is one of the founding members of Mega Million. Buckeye players have so far won a total of 22 jackpots.

The Ohio player won the prize after matching all six winning numbers. For reference, the winning numbers for the March 17 were 4, 11, 18, 38, and 50, plus the gold Mega Ball 24.

The player will now have to choose whether to go with the $60 million annuity or take the one-time lump sum payment of $27.1 million, which is what many lottery winners do.

This drawing saw no player claim the second-tier prize, which ranges from $2 million to $10 million, depending on the active multiplier. However, four players matched four white numbers and the gold Mega Ball to win various prizes. These included one prize of $20,000, two of $30,000, and a single one of $40,000.

In the two drawings in this jackpot run, there were 377,536 winning tickets sold, plus the jackpot-winning ticket.

Powerball Jackpot Exceeds $100M as the Next Drawing Looms

In the meantime, the Powerball drawing is set to take place within a few hours from the time of this writing. The game’s top prize is currently at $101 million or $46 million if a hypothetical winner chooses the one-time payment.

The previous Powerball jackpot was likewise won not too long ago and it has yet to be seen whether we’ll be in for another short jackpot turnaround.