May the Fourth be with you
By Kate Northrop
NORTHBOROUGH, Mass. — The force was strong with one Star Wars superfan, who won a $5.37 million jackpot from the Massachusetts Lottery's Megabucks game on May the 4th, the unofficial holiday of the Star Wars franchise.
James Jorgensen of Northborough was one with the force on Sat., May 4, 2024, the day he won a $5.37 million Megabucks jackpot.
Prior to the drawing, he had stopped at Lowe's Variety Market and Meat Shop on West Main Street in Northborough to pick up his tickets.
There was no better timing for the Star Wars enthusiast. Winning the jackpot was incredible in the first place, but having it fall on May 4 was even more satisfying.
"The best thing is I'm a huge Star Wars fan, so I was all decked out in a Star Wars hat and Star Wars shirt, and I won on May 4th, which is an unofficial Star Wars holiday," Jorgensen told the Lottery.
Jorgensen's partner, Jennifer, joined him when he went to collect his prize at Lottery headquarters in Dorchester. There, he received a one-time lump sum payment of $3,609,886 before taxes.
He'll use the winnings to buy a home and pay for his children's college tuition, he said.
For selling the winning ticket, Lowe's Variety Market and Meat Shop will receive a $50,000 bonus.
The Massachusetts Lottery's Megabucks game was overhauled on Nov. 13, 2023 in order to "bring more value to players, with better odds of winning, a higher average jackpot, and double the winnings for all non-jackpot prize tiers," the Lottery said in a press release. Monday drawings were also added to the usual Wednesday and Saturday draw schedule.
One of the notable changes was the number matrix, which was reduced from 1 to 49 to 1 to 44, while still choosing six numbers. As a result, the odds of winning the jackpot improved from 1 in 13.98 million to 1 in 7.06 million.
The "Doubler" component was also discarded, and instead all non-jackpot prizes were doubled. The ticket price increased from $1 to $2, and the starting jackpot remains the same at $500,000.
Jorgensen's win was the second Megabucks jackpot win since the game was redesigned.
The Megabucks jackpot currently stands at $500,000 for the next drawing on Sat., May 11. Megabucks drawings take place on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays at 9:00 pm EST.
All winning numbers, prize amounts, and odds can be found on Lottery Post's Massachusetts Lottery Results page.
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May the Fourth be win you I think the saying is.
Interesting today KY pick three and Pick four. First three of my SSAN came in str/box; last four of my social came in str/box too. I had play the pick 3 for five days but it has lapsed...oh well.
* When Lord Vader said " l find your lack of faith disturbing " he was not talking about Jorgensen- that's for sure!
"All too easy."
—Darth Vader
Congrats to the lucky Mega fan.
" Impressive, most Impressive!"
Cute couple.
Congrats!
there always a story so you go play
"First three of my SSAN came in str/box; last four of my social came in str/box too. "
The middle two must have turned up at some point, too. When did that happen?
On a totally unrelated note, what's your mother's maiden name?
Like those two planted stories about it being the first time they every played.
Nice win congrats