Local News

‘Star Wars’ fan wins $5 million on May 4, the franchise’s unofficial holiday

James Jorgensen of Northborough won the Megabucks jackpot in the Mass. State Lottery on "May the 4th."

James and Jennifer Jorgensen pose with $5,370,000 that was won on May 4 in Northborough.

May 7, 2024

May the 4th be with you: A long-time Massachusetts “Star Wars” fan won a $5.37 million jackpot prize on May 4, the unofficial holiday of the franchise.

James Jorgensen of Northborough won his prize in the Massachusetts State Lottery’s Megabucks on Saturday. Jorgensen and his partner, Jennifer, elected to receive the prize as a one-time payment of $3,609,886.

Jorgensen told the Lottery he was elated to win on “Star Wars Day” — a fan-created “holiday” celebrating the films that has since been adopted by both Lucasfilm and Disney — and he noted that he was “decked out” in “Star Wars” gear when he scored big.

He plans to use the money to buy a home and pay for his children’s college tuition.

The Megabucks ticket was revamped in November of 2023 to increase the chances of winning, according to the Lottery. Now, rather than odds of 1 in 13.98 million, players have odds of around 1 in 7.06 million.

Jorgensen purchased the winning ticket at Lowe’s Variety Market and Meat Shop in Northborough.

According to reporting by Mass Live, this is the largest lottery prize won in Massachusetts thus far in 2024.