News writer
It wasn't just thunder rolling Thursday night; there were two big jackpots. While most people were winding down, a couple of lucky lottery players were cashing in.
One winner in the Midwest matched all five numbers in an Ohio draw, while another ticket in Nebraska quietly turned into a six-figure payday. Could this be the start of a lucky weekend?
Rolling in the dough
Thursday night started strong in Ohio, as one lucky ticket matched all the winning numbers drawn in the Rolling Cash 5 game to win the $543,000 jackpot.
Rolling Cash 5 is a daily in-state drawing game where the jackpot starts at $100,000 and grows every time there isn't a jackpot winner. This jackpot had been growing since there were back-to-back jackpot winners on May 13 ($240,000 jackpot winner) and May 14 ($100,000 jackpot winner).
Now, there is a $543,000 jackpot winner after a ticket purchased at Lucky Choice in Columbus matched all of the winning numbers in Thursday's drawing. The winning numbers for last night's draw were 7, 14, 31, 32, and 33.
While this is a nice size win, the largest Rolling Cash 5 jackpot in the game's history is $1.1 million, which was won back in 2012. The odds of winning the Rolling Cash 5 jackpot are 1 in 575,757.
Nebraska Lottery also hands out a jackpot win
The jackpot wins were happening in Nebraska last night also, as one lucky player matched all the winning numbers drawn in the Nebraska Pick 5 draw game to win the $240,000 jackpot.
The winning ticket was purchased at Bakers #311, located at 5555 N. 90th St. in Omaha. The winning numbers for last night's drawing were 4, 11, 18, 27, and 32.
For the Nebraska Lottery, draw game winners have 180 days from the date of the drawing to claim their prize. Any prizes of $20,000 or more must be claimed in person at the lottery headquarters in Lincoln.
Nebraska Pick 5 is an in-state exclusive draw game. All the winning tickets are sold in the state of Nebraska at Nebraska Lottery retailers, and all proceeds from the game stay in Nebraska. The odds of winning the Nebraska Pick 5 jackpot, which starts at $50,000 and grows by $10,000 each drawing where there is no jackpot winner, are 1 in 658,008.
Bringing the jackpot wins into the weekend?
Do these two jackpot wins mean other jackpots will be won this weekend? That is what Lotto America players are hoping, as the jackpot has grown to the second-largest in the game's history.
The last time the Lotto America jackpot was won was on April 24, 2024. At that time, one lucky ticket matched all the winning numbers to win the $3.11 million jackpot.
Now, we have made it over a year, and 171 draws have been held with no jackpot winners. The jackpot has climbed to $37.22 million, the second-highest jackpot ever.
The biggest jackpot was for $40 million back in April 2023. Earl Lape of Dubuque, Iowa, won that jackpot after purchasing the winning ticket at Eichman's Bar & Family Restaurant, located at 11941 U.S. Highway 52 N in Dubuque.
Enjoy playing the lottery, and please remember to play responsibly.
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