One winning ticket for the $1.13 billion jackpot was sold Tuesday night in New Jersey, game officials said. It was the fifth-largest pot of gold ever won by Mega Millions players, and the first time this year that a ticket matched all the numbers needed to claim the jackpot.
The New Jersey Lottery says the winning ducats were purchased at Shoprite Liquors in Neptune.
Mega Millions has been gone for more than three months No grand prize winnerwith 31 drawings since two tickets in California did the job on December 8.
Tuesday's winning numbers were 7, 11, 22, 29, 38, and Mega Ball 4.
The estimated jackpot was the eighth largest in American lottery history. The largest Mega Millions lottery jackpot ever, worth $1.602 billion, was won on August 8 last year, when a single winning ticket was sold. Sold in Florida. The largest prize in the history of the American lotterya Powerball jackpot of $2.04 billion, won in California in February of 2023.
Jackpot winners have the option of receiving a lump sum cash payment or receiving the winnings over 30 years in annual installments. Only winners who take the annuity option receive the full jackpot total. The estimated lump sum for Tuesday night's drawing was $537.5 million before taxes.
Mega Millions draws on Tuesday and Friday nights, while Powerball holds its drawings on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday nights. Powerball had an estimated jackpot of $865 million as of Tuesday night.
To claim the Mega Millions jackpot, players must match all five white balls plus the yellow Mega Ball. Smaller prizes, up to $2, are available for matching some, but not all, numbers drawn. The odds of winning a Mega Millions prize are 1 in 24, but the odds of winning the jackpot are only 1 in 302,575,350.
Mega Millions tickets are sold in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. A standard ticket costs $2, but bonuses can be added for an additional fee to increase the payout of non-jackpot prizes.
The next Mega Millions drawing will have a jackpot of $20 million, the starting point for the jackpot series.
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