Ohio Player Lands First Jackpot Win of New Mega Millions Era
Tuesday April 22nd 2025Mega Millions created its first jackpot winner under the new format, as a single player matched all the numbers to land a prize worth $112 million. The winning ticket was sold in Ohio.
The draw on April 18th was only the fourth since the introduction of new rules earlier this month. One of the updates was a tweak to the matrix that improved the odds of winning, and it has paid off already in the space of two weeks.
Friday’s winning numbers were 5, 13, 15, 17 and 28, with a gold Mega Ball of 1. More than 229,000 prizes were given away on a special night, and one player pocketed the nine-figure jackpot. Go to the Numbers page to see a breakdown of all the payouts.
Ohio has now been the home of 21 jackpot winners. The lucky entry for Friday’s draw was purchased in South Euclid, at the Giant Eagle at 4401 Mayfield Road.
The winner has 180 days from the draw date to claim their prize. They can decide to take the jackpot as an annuity over 30 years or accept a lump sum of $49.3 million.
“Moments like this are exactly why we reimagined the game,” said Joshua Johnston, Lead Director of the Mega Millions Consortium. “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.”
Increased Payouts Under New Rules
Among the changes that were made to Mega Millions on April 5 was an increase in the ticket price from $2 to $5. This new price includes an automatic multiplier feature, rather than the optional Megaplier that had previously been available.
With the multiplier, a value is assigned to each set of numbers on your ticket at random - it could be 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x or 10x. Any non-jackpot prize you win is boosted by the value of the multiplier on your ticket.
In the four draws since the update, a total of $27.5 million has been paid out across the eight prize tiers below the jackpot. Mega Millions bosses have calculated that this is four times as much ($6.8 million) as would have been paid out under the old matrix and rules.
Another change is that the starting jackpot is now higher than ever, so the top prize will now reset to $50 million for Tuesday’s draw. Don’t forget to pick up your tickets, then check the winning numbers as soon as they are available.
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