1,200 Mega Millions tickets giveaway to celebrate $1.25 billion jackpot

Photo Caption: Shell Food Mart, 210 E. Ogden Ave., Hinsdale, is one of Illinois Lottery’s ‘lucky’ stores

Illinois Lottery Unveils Top 10 ‘Winningest’ Mega Millions Retailers of 2023

Once again, Mega Millions mania is sweeping all across Illinois as the jackpot balloons to a staggering $1.25 billion for Friday night’s drawing.

If won, it would be the fourth largest Mega Millions Jackpot and the sixth largest lottery jackpot won in U.S. history.

Last July, a whopping $1.337 billion Mega Millions Jackpot was won in Illinois. Two people with one winning ticket in Des Plaines claimed the largest lottery prize ever in Illinois, and at the time, the third largest lottery prize in U.S. history.

To celebrate this Friday’s $1.25 billion jackpot, the Illinois Lottery is hosting a ‘Mega Millions Ticket Grab Challenge’ – giving players a chance to win 1,200 free Mega Millions tickets at one of the top 10 ‘lucky’ lottery stores in Illinois.

Players can join in on the fun at Shell Food Mart, located at 210 E. Ogden Ave. in Hinsdale from 11:00 am – 1:00 pm on Friday, August 4.

Shell Food Mart is one of Illinois Lottery’s top 10 ‘winningest’ Mega Millions stores in Illinois for selling the most winning Mega Millions tickets in 2023.

For the Mega Millions Ticket Grab Challenge, the Illinois Lottery is setting up a Ticket Grab machine full of Mega Millions tickets, ready to be scooped up by excited players. Once inside the Ticket Grab machine, players have five seconds to grab as many Mega Millions tickets as they can.

Can’t make it to the Illinois Lottery’s Mega Millions Ticket Grab Challenge? Lottery players can still try their luck at one of these top 10 ‘winningest’ lottery stores in Illinois – or at any of the 7,000 retail locations across the State.

In Illinois, every lottery ticket bought supports our local communities. For Mega Millions, approximately 40 cents of every dollar spent goes to support K-12 education and other good causes. Since 1985, the Illinois Lottery has contributed more than $24 billion in revenue to educational funding in Illinois.

Mega Millions tickets are $2 each, and players have the option to add the Megaplier for an additional $1 for the chance to multiply non-jackpot prizes.

The Illinois Lottery reminds all players that lottery games are not for kids — never give a lottery ticket to a minor. For more information on how to play lottery games responsibly, please visit IllinoisLottery.com.

NOTES:

• All participants must be 18 years of age or older

• An Illinois Lottery spokesperson will be available on-site

• The event will continue while supplies and quantities last

About the Illinois Lottery

Founded in 1974, the Illinois Lottery has contributed over $24 billion (since 1985) to the state’s Common School Fund to assist K-12 public schools, as well as hundreds of millions of dollars to the Capital Projects Fund and to special causes. For more information, visit illinoisLottery.com.