Virginia is for winners.
A Mega Millions participant in Virginia secured the historic $348 million jackpot on Friday night, bringing an end to a streak of 20 draws without a winner and marking the lottery’s first significant victory since its revitalization in April.
This ticket, transforming the winner’s life, represents the largest Mega Millions prize ever won in Virginia and was purchased at the E & C VA convenience store located in Burgess, approximately 85 miles northeast of Richmond, as confirmed by the lottery officials.
The winning numbers were 18, 21, 29, 42 and 50 and the gold Mega Ball 2.
The odds of winning the jackpot were an astonishing 1 in 290,472,336.
The anonymous winner is faced with a choice: either accept the full $348 million prize before taxes in annual payments over 30 years, or opt for a single lump sum cash payout estimated to be $155.5 million.
The lottery allows winners to have 180 days to claim their prize.
Retired truck driver JR Triplett previously held the state’s Mega Millions record when he won $239 million in 2004. Triplett opted for one lump sum, which was worth $140 million before taxes, according to WIS News 10.
Virginia has produced 10 Mega Millions winners since the game was founded in 2002.
Kevin Young, of Bristow, Va., was the last Old Dominion resident to match all six numbers, back in July 2016, when he shared a $15 million jackpot with Christina Ford of Dallas, Ga.
Friday night’s drawing is the fourth time the game’s jackpot was won in 2025, and the second since the format changed on April 8.
The new game, which was marketed as “bigger and better,” created 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.
Ticket prices were increased from $2 to $5 following the change.
Mega Millions implemented the new system on April 8, and a jackpot worth $112 million was won by the Ironwood Family Trust in South Euclid, Oregon on April 18.
Two more jackpots were won from the old format in 2025.
A $112 million ticket was sold to an anonymous player in Tempe, Arizona, on Jan. 17.
Another anonymous player in Cortland, Illinois, won the $349 million prize on March 25.
In December 2024, Rosemary Casarotti purchased a Mega Millions ticket at the Sunshine Food and Gas station in Cottonwood, Calif., worth $1.269 billion.
It was the largest jackpot won in 2024, and the fifth largest in game history.
