IL Winner Of $349M Jackpot Still A Mystery — And It May Stay That Way

ILLINOIS — It's a Mega Millions Mystery: The person who won the $349 million jackpot in Illinois has not yet come forward.

It's been more than a week since a single Mega Millions ticket sold at a Casey's General Store in Cortland won the life-changing prize. The lucky person has one year from the date of the winning draw to claim their winnings.

The ticket, sold on March 25, matched all Mega Millions numbers — 1, 5, 17, 39, 62 and 8 — in addition to a Megaplier to win the full amount. Illinois Lottery originally reported the jackpot to be $344 million.

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The win was also "huge" for Casey's, who will receive a cash bonus of $500,000 for selling the ticket.

"It’s the talk of the town, and the store is still buzzing with excitement," Kim Shaw, Casey’s district manager, said in a statement. "This is the biggest jackpot-winning ticket our store has ever sold. We're thrilled for the winner, and selfishly, we hope it's one of our regular customers—keeping the winnings in the community would make it even more special."

Changes are coming to the Illinois lottery in just two days. Beginning April 5, a "new version" of Mega Millions is set to go into effect, including ticket price increases from $2 to $5, better odds and more frequent prizes, the Illinois Lottery said. The starting jackpot will increase from $20 million to $50 million, and players will have 24 numbers to choose from in the Mega Ball field.

The next Mega Millions drawing is on Friday, with the jackpot amounting to $43 million.

If the winner does come forward, it's not certain that their name will be released. In Illinois, if a lottery winner's prize is $250,000 or greater, they may request to keep their name and town of residents confidential by indicating that choice on the Illinois Lottery Winner Claim Form. Winners must make this request at the time of claiming the prize.

If they don't, the Illinois Lottery will routinely publish winner information, including the winner’s name, home city, and the amount won. In addition, multimillion-dollar winners may be asked to participate in publicity events, like publicly receiving an oversized souvenir check.

The winner has one year from the date of the drawing to claim their prize.