CHICAGO, Ill.– A lucky Illinois iLottery user was the winner of the $552 million Mega Millions jackpot.
The winner, nicknamed “MEGA Millionaire,” won the money after playing the online game, making this the largest jackpot won through iLottery in U.S. history.
“I was scrolling through my emails when I saw one from the Illinois Lottery saying to check my numbers because I won a prize,” the winner said, who has requested to remain anonymous. “In the past, I’ve won $2 here or $5 there, so I assumed it would be similar.”
The MEGA Millionaire matched all five numbers and the Mega Ball, 19-37-40-63-69-17, to win the jackpot in the June 4 drawing.
“You can’t imagine my shock and disbelief when I saw that I had won the jackpot amount of $552 million,” the winner shared. “I actually quit the app and then signed back in to double check and make sure it was real. It was real alright, but it still feels unreal!”
The historic online win was the ninth-largest Mega Millions jackpot prize in the game’s history and the second-largest prize ever won in Illinois. In July 2022, a ticket bought at the gas station in Des Plaines won a $1.337 billion Mega Millions jackpot, which remains the largest lottery prize won in Illinois.
Mega Millions is a large multi-state lottery game with two draw days a week and nine ways to win. Players have a 1 in 37 chance of winning a minimum of $2.