By shrinking the gold Mega Ball pool from 25 to 24, the odds of winning the jackpot will improve from about 1 in 302.6 million to 1 in 290.5 million. The odds of winning any prize

It was a lucky night for a Mega Millions player in Illinois who bought the winning ticket, worth an estimated $344 million. This is the first time the Mega Millions jackpot has been won since Jan. 17, when a ticket in Arizona won the $112 million prize. The jackpot will now reset to $20 million ahead of Friday night's drawing.