Roaring into March with a hefty payday.
A Mega Millions player in Illinois won the $533 million jackpot Tuesday night, marking the first grand prize that was awarded in 2026.
The winning numbers were 16, 21, 30, 35 and 65, plus the gold Mega Ball 7. The location of where the winning ticket was sold was not disclosed.
The unidentified ticketholder can choose between the $533 million prize or a one time $244.2 million cash payout.
The lucky winner has up to a year to claim the grand prize or 60 days for the lump sum, according to the Illinois Lottery.
It wasn’t immediately revealed where the golden ticket was sold or if the player had made the online.
It is the 17th time the Mega Millions jackpot has been won in the Land of Lincoln, putting Illinois sixth in terms of wins by state behind Michigan’s 18, according to Jackpot.com
Tuesday’s drawing is the first time the Mega Millions jackpot has been won since an anonymous player in Hudson County, New Jersey, won the $90 million jackpot on Dec. 2, 2025.
It is the largest grand prize since another anonymous person in Newnan, Georgia, won the $980 million drawing on Nov. 14, 2025.
It was the largest lottery winnings for the Peach State and ended the game’s longest drought between jackpot winners.
Next month, Mega Millions will complete its first year operating under the largest restructuring in the game’s history.
The revamp, marketed as “bigger and better,” was created to offer larger prizes for all non-jackpot tier winners, better odds to win the jackpot, and a larger starting jackpot of $50 million, instead of the original $20 million.
The odds of hitting a jackpot in the newly revamped game are 1 in 290,472,336.