5 Idaho tickets were “Oh, So Close” to the Jackpot
To paraphrase an old expression, “Close only counts in horseshoes and Lottery wins.”
That idiom holds true for the Gem State from last night’s $1.537 billion Mega Millions jackpot draw.
Idaho had five winning tickets that were only one number away from sharing in the jackpot prize.
Those tickets matched four of the first five numbers and had the Megaball number.
The winning numbers for last night’s Mega Millions draw were: 05 28 62 65 70, the Megaball was 05, and the Megaplier number was 3.
“We encourage everyone to check their tickets carefully for winners and sign the back of their ticket,” said Jeff Anderson, Idaho Lottery Director. “We had over 68,000 winning tickets on Mega Millions last night worth $434,600 in prizes.”
One of Idaho’s two $30,000 winners from last evening has already claimed his prize. Aaron Rosa, Kuna, matched four of the first five numbers and had the Megaball number from last night’s draw, meaning he was only one number away from sharing in the $1.537 billion jackpot.
“It was heartbreaking to know I was only one number away from the big one, or even a $3 million win,” said Rosa when he claimed his prize at the Lottery offices in Boise this morning. “But it’s still a lot of money!”
Rosa’s winning ticket was sold at KJ’s Superstore in Kuna. Rosa plans to save the winnings to eventually use toward purchasing a home.
Of the remaining four tickets that matched four of the five first numbers and the Megaball: one $10,000 winner was sold in Kootenai County, in Twin Falls County, and in Ada County. The remaining $30,000 winner was sold in Twin Falls County.
Over the past week in the Gem State, the game Mega Millions alone has generated approximately $2.6 million in dividends for Idaho’s public schools and the State’s permanent building facilities.
Tonight, Powerball will draw for the sixth largest jackpot in United States history. The jackpot is an estimated $620 million. Players who would like to participate in this draw can purchase tickets until 7:55 pm MT. The draw occurs at 8:59 pm MT.
