Mega Millions ticketholder wins record-breaking $348M jackpot in Virginia
Virginia Celebrates Mega Millions Jackpot Winner
Virginia residents are celebrating after a lucky Mega Millions player in the state clinched the historic $348 million jackpot on Friday night. The win marked the end of a 20-draw drought and was the first major win since the game was revamped in April.
The winning ticket, the largest Mega Millions win in Virginia’s history, was sold at the E & C VA convenience store in Burgess, located 85 miles northeast of Richmond, according to the state lottery.
The winning numbers for the jackpot were 18, 21, 29, 42, and 50, with the gold Mega Ball being 2. The odds of winning the jackpot were an astounding 1 in 290,472,336.
The lucky winner, who has chosen to remain unidentified, now has the option to receive the $348 million in annual installments over 30 years or take the one-time cash option, estimated at $155.5 million. Winners have 180 days to claim their prize.
The previous record for a Mega Millions win in Virginia was held by retired truck driver JR Triplett, who won $239 million in 2004. Triplett opted for the lump sum payment, which amounted to $140 million before taxes.
Virginia has seen a total of 10 Mega Millions winners since the game’s inception in 2002. The last Virginia resident to match all six numbers was Kevin Young of Bristow, who shared a $15 million jackpot with Christina Ford of Dallas, Georgia, back in July 2016.
Friday night’s jackpot win marks the fourth time the game’s top prize has been won in 2025 and the second since the format change in April. The revamped game promised larger prizes for non-jackpot tier winners, better odds of winning the jackpot, and a higher starting jackpot of $50 million.
Ticket prices were increased from $2 to $5 following the format change, which was implemented on April 8. The first jackpot under the new format was won by the Ironwood Family Trust in South Euclid, Oregon, on April 18.
In addition to Friday’s win, two more jackpots were won under the old format in 2025. An anonymous player in Tempe, Arizona, won $112 million on Jan. 17, while another anonymous player in Cortland, Illinois, took home a $349 million prize on March 25.
Looking back to December 2024, Rosemary Casarotti made headlines when she purchased a Mega Millions ticket at the Sunshine Food and Gas station in Cottonwood, California, worth an impressive $1.269 billion. The jackpot was the largest won in 2024 and the fifth largest in Mega Millions history.
Virginia truly is for winners, and this recent Mega Millions jackpot win has proven that luck can strike in the Old Dominion state.
