BOISE — It's not quite $1.5 billion, but five Idahoans are a little richer after Tuesday night's Mega Millions draw.
According to the Idaho Lottery, five winning tickets sold in Idaho matched four of the first five numbers and had the Megaball number, making those ticketholders just one number away from sharing in the massive jackpot prize.
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.
Mega Millions: $1.537 billion winning ticket sold in Simpsonville, South Carolina
In Idaho, there were two $30,000 winners and three $10,000 winners.
Aaron Rosa of Kuna has already come forward to claim his $30,000 payout.
"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 bought his ticket at KJ's Superstore in Kuna, and said he plans to put his winnings into savings with the plan to eventually purchase a home.
The other four winners have not yet come forward. The $10,000 winning tickets were sold in Ada County, Kootenai County and Twin Falls County. The remaining $30,000 ticket was purchased in Twin Falls County.
Anyone who bought a lottery ticket is advised to double-check to see whether they won a smaller prize, even if they missed out on the $1.5 billion.
"Thank you to everyone who participated in last night's Mega Millions jackpot draw," said Jeff Anderson, Idaho Lottery Director. "We encourage everyone to check their tickets carefully for winners and sign the back of their ticket. We had over 68,000 winning tickets on Mega Millions last night worth $434,600 in prizes.
According to the Idaho Lottery, Mega Millions has generated about $2.6 million in dividends for Idaho's public schools and the State's permanent building facilities in just the last week.
The Powerball drawing, for a jackpot of $620 million, will be held Wednesday night at 8:59 p.m. on 24/7.
