Illinois Ticket Scores $536 Million in First Mega Millions Jackpot Win of 2026

The winner has the option to receive the $536 million prize as an annuity or as a one-time lump sum cash payout of $245.6 million.

Audrey Simons

Published: 3/11/2026, 4:31:45 PM EDT

Illinois Ticket Scores $536 Million in First Mega Millions Jackpot Win of 2026 — A customer holds a stack of Mega Millions lottery tickets which he purchased for his office pool at a convenience store in Chicago on Dec. 17, 2013. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

One lucky player in Illinois won the first Mega Millions jackpot of 2026 after scoring the $536 million grand prize in Tuesday night's drawing.

Lottery officials announced Wednesday that the winner—who has not yet been identified—matched all six numbers in the draw, which included the white balls 16, 21, 30, 35, and 65, as well as the gold Mega Ball of 7.

The player can choose to receive the $536 million prize as an annuity, with one immediate payment followed by 29 annual payments that increase by five percent each year, or as a one-time lump sum cash payout of $245.6 million.

Nearly 416,000 other tickets earned prizes in the March 10 drawing, including 275,474 that matched just the Mega Ball, winning between $10 and $50 in prizes each.

Two tickets sold in Maryland and Illinois matched the five white balls, winning $4 million and $5 million, respectively.

Seven tickets sold across six states, including Michigan, Texas, Washington, Georgia, Nebraska, and Illinois, matched four white balls and the Mega Ball, scoring third-tier prizes ranging from $20,000 to $50,000.

Nearly 7.7 million tickets won more than $209 million in total prizes over the course of the 28 drawings that were featured in this jackpot run.

The last Mega Millions jackpot was won on Dec. 2, 2025, when a single ticket sold in Hudson County, New Jersey, won the $90 million grand prize.

"I was up (the night of the drawing). Hoping for something. Then—whomp—a bird hit my window," the winner, who opted to remain anonymous, told the New Jersey Lottery District Office while claiming the prize. "I knew something was coming for me, but I didn’t know just what."

The jackpot was won five other times in 2025, with winning tickets sold in Arizona, Georgia, Illinois, Ohio, and Virginia, lottery officials said.

The next jackpot is estimated to be worth $50 Million—the reset starting value—with a cash option of $22.9 million. The drawing will take place on Friday at 11 p.m. ET.

Mega Millions drawings are held each week on Tuesdays and Fridays in Atlanta, Georgia. Tickets cost $5 and are sold in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Each ticket comes with a randomly assigned multiplier, which can multiply non-jackpot prize levels by 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x, or 10x.

Lottery officials estimate that roughly half of all Mega Millions ticket sales remain in the state where they were purchased, supporting designated causes and retailer commissions.

The overall odds of winning any prize in the lottery game are 1 in 23, while the odds of winning the grand prize are about 1 in 290,472,336.