CHICAGO, June 10, 2024 — An Illinois iLottery player has come forward to claim a record-breaking $552 million Mega Millions jackpot, marking the largest jackpot ever won through iLottery in U.S. history.
The winner, who has chosen to remain anonymous and goes by the nickname “MEGA Millionaire,” was in “shock and disbelief” upon discovering their win. “I was scrolling through my emails when I saw one from the Illinois Lottery saying to check my numbers because I won a prize,” MEGA Millionaire shared. “In the past, I’ve won $2 here or $5 there, so I assumed it would be similar.”
The winning ticket matched all five numbers and the Mega Ball in the June 4, 2024, drawing: 19-37-40-63-69 and Mega Ball 17. “You can’t imagine my shock and disbelief when I saw that I had won the jackpot amount of $552 million. 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!”
MEGA Millionaire, who was raised by a single mother who worked two jobs to provide for their family, expressed gratitude and reflected on their hard-working background. “The day after I graduated from high school, I started working and I haven’t stopped since. I’ve spent my life as a laborer and once I was making a decent living, I asked my mom to retire and let me take care of her.”
The winner has not yet informed their mother of the windfall but anticipates a very emotional moment when the news is shared. “When that time comes, we’re all going to be shedding some happy tears.”
This historic win is the ninth-largest Mega Millions jackpot in the game’s history and the second-largest prize ever won in Illinois. The largest lottery prize in Illinois was a $1.337 billion Mega Millions jackpot won in July 2022 with a ticket bought at a gas station in Des Plaines.