Mega Millions ticket holder wins $533M jackpot — first grand prize of 2026: Numbers, drawing, results
Roaring into March with a hefty payday.
A Mega Millions participant in Illinois received the $533 million jackpot Tuesday evening, marking the first grand prize that was awarded in 2026.
The profitable numbers had been 16, 21, 30, 35 and 65, plus the gold Mega Ball 7. The location the place the profitable ticket was bought was not disclosed.
The unidentified ticketholder can select between the $533 million prize or a one-time $244.2 million money payout.
The fortunate winner has as much as a yr to say the grand prize or 60 days for the lump sum, in response to the Illinois Lottery.
Another participant in Illinois matched the 5 white balls and a 5x multiplier to win $5 million. A participant in Maryland matched the balls, however with a 4x multiplier for a $4 million payday.
It is the seventeenth time the Mega Millions jackpot has been received within the Land of Lincoln, placing Illinois sixth in phrases of wins by state behind Michigan’s 18th, according to Jackpot.com
Tuesday’s drawing is the first time the Mega Millions jackpot has been received since an nameless participant in Hudson County, New Jersey, received the $90 million jackpot on Dec. 2, 2025.
It is the biggest grand prize since one other nameless particular person in Newnan, Georgia, received the $980 million drawing on Nov. 14, 2025.
It was the biggest lottery winnings for the Peach State and ended the sport’s longest drought amongst jackpot winners.
Next month, Mega Millions will full its first yr of operation underneath the biggest restructuring within the recreation’s historical past.
The revamp, marketed as “bigger and better,” was created to supply bigger prizes for all non-jackpot tier winners, higher odds to win the jackpot, and a bigger beginning jackpot of $50 million, as an alternative of the unique $20 million.
The odds of hitting a jackpot within the newly revamped recreation are 1 in 290,472,336.
