Virginia Hits the Jackpot
Virginia has made headlines with a major Mega Millions win. A player snagged a staggering $348 million jackpot on Friday night, breaking a 20-drawing drought and marking the first big win since the game’s overhaul in April.
This monumental ticket, the largest Mega Millions win in Virginia’s history, was purchased at the E&C VA convenience store in Burgess, located about 85 miles northeast of Richmond.
The winning numbers were 18, 21, 29, 42, and 50, along with two Gold Megaballs.
Winning this jackpot was no small feat, with odds standing at an incredible one in 290,472,336.
The anonymous winners can choose between the full $348 million before taxes or a one-time cash option estimated at $155.5 million, which could be paid in annual installments.
Winners have 180 days to claim their prize, which is quite a bit of time, I suppose. I wonder how many folks take that full window. It’s probably a mix of excitement and anxiety to sort things out.
Before this win, the record for our state was held by Jr. Triplet, a retired truck driver, who claimed $239 million back in 2004. Interesting how much the sums have changed over time.
Since the game’s inception in 2002, Virginia has produced 10 Mega Millions winners. The last local to match all six numbers was Kevin Young from Bristow, who shared a $15 million jackpot in July 2016 with Christina Ford from Georgia.
This recent jackpot marks the fourth win in 2025 and the second since the game’s new format was introduced on April 8th.
The revamped game, marketed as “larger, better,” offers bigger prizes for all non-jackpot tiers, along with improved odds for jackpot wins and a starting jackpot now at $50 million, increased from the previous $20 million.
However, with that change came a price increase for tickets, going from $2 to $5. It’s a bit of a trade-off, really, isn’t it? More ticket cost, but potentially, much bigger rewards.
The new system debuted on April 8th, with a subsequent win of $112 million going to the Ironwood Family Trust in South Euclidean, Oregon, just ten days later.
This year also saw two jackpots awarded under the old format: one was a $112 million win on January 17th in Tempe, Arizona, and another for $349 million on March 25th to an anonymous player in Cortland, Illinois.
In December 2024, a record-setting Mega Millions ticket worth $1.269 billion was purchased by Rosemary Casalotti at Sunshine Food and Petrol Station in Cottonwood, California. That was the biggest jackpot of 2024 and ranks as the fifth largest in the game’s history.
