The first drawing of the new Mega Millions game, which costs $5 per ticket instead of the previous game’s $2 per ticket, was held Tuesday night.
“While no one anywhere in the country hit the jackpot, a grand total of 28,969 California Lottery players won at other prize levels,” California Lottery officials stated in a news release.
Lottery officials say that with the new cost, comes better chances of winning and more money for California schools.
“Notably, more than 19,000 Californians won between $10 and $50 just for matching the gold Mega Ball,” the news release stated. “In past drawings, a match like that would’ve been a tie game.”
One player in Southern California matched four out of the five numbers plus the Mega Ball to win $23,330. That winning ticket was sold at the Vons Express at 29910 Murrieta Hot Springs Road in Murrieta.
The winning numbers from Tuesday’s draw were 10, 16, 50, 60 and 61 with a Mega Ball of 17.
Ongoing sales have increased the estimated jackpot for Friday’s drawing to $72 million, according to officials.
“Congratulations to all of last night’s players who joined in on the first drawing. Every Mega Millions entry is worth nearly $2 for California public schools and helps support a wide variety of programs throughout the state,” California Lottery spokesperson Carolyn Becker said.