Ohioans who went home with empty pockets after no winner was selected in Tuesday’s Mega Millions drawing won’t have to wait long for another chance at becoming millionaires.
The Mega Millions jackpot rose to an estimated $348 million after no winner was selected Tuesday. The cash option would be valued at $210.2 million for that prize.
Additionally, the Powerball jackpot was at an estimated $294 million for Wednesday night’s drawing. The next Mega Millions drawing is scheduled for Friday night.
Miami Valley residents have been lucky in the past with lotteries: In May, a $143 million winning ticket was sold in Moraine.
A Beavercreek woman won a $1 million prize on a scratch-off ticket in 2017 and opted for a lump-sum prize, this publication previously reported.
Ohio has a long list of Mega Millions winners dating back years: 12 winning tickets have been claimed by registered groups either living in or buying the winning ticket in Ohio since Mega Millions began in 2002.
That makes Ohio the leader among states for Mega Millions jackpot winning tickets.
Mega Millions implemented new rules last year that decreased the odds of winning and increased the size of prizes and how fast prizes grow. The odds of winning a jackpot are about one in nearly 303 million.
Although millions are at stake, some lottery prizes go unclaimed. Time is running out for the winner of a $1.5 billion lottery jackpot to claim their prize, as a winning ticket sold in South Carolina in October remains unclaimed.
The potential billionaire has until April to claim their prize, The State reported. Otherwise, the money will return to the 44 states that hold Mega Millions lotteries.
In Ohio, that money would be put into the Ohio Department of Education’s Lottery Profits for Education Fund.
The lottery winner might not know they won, or could be waiting until 2019 to claim it for tax purposes, The State reported. The winning ticket was sold near Simpsonville, South Carolina, about a 20 minute drive from Greenville.
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