New Jersey Player Wins Mega Millions Jackpot Worth $1.13 Billion
One winning ticket in New Jersey won the fifth-largest jackpot in Mega Millions history.
Luck was definitely on the side of a New Jersey resident when they won the $1.13 billion jackpot from Tuesday night's draw.
The ShopRite Liquor located on Route 66 in Neptune Township in Monmouth Country, the store where the winning ticket was bought, also benefited from that luck after receiving a $30,000 bonus check, according to the New York Post.
The winning Mega Millions numbers on Tuesday were 7, 11, 22, 29, 38 and the Mega Ball was 4.
Based on the lottery's terms, the winner can receive their prize in annual payments or a smaller lump sum.
Aside from being the fifth-largest jackpot in Mega Millions history and the eighth largest in U.S. lottery history, it was also the first jackpot of 2024 and the end of 30 straight weeks without a Mega Millions winner since Dec. 8 last year.
The largest-ever Mega Millions grand prize was $1.602 billion, according to CNN. The ticket was bought in Neptune Beach, Florida, in August 2023.
Meanwhile, the all-time largest jackpot in U.S. lottery history was a $2.04 billion Powerball prize. The winner was named Edwin Castro, said California Lottery director Alva Johnson, per CBS News.
The identity of the latest Mega Millions jackpot winner from the Tuesday draw has not been disclosed yet.
TiYahna Bambaata, the part-timer who worked at the liquor store, also said that she could not remember the identity of the winner who bought the ticket while she was on duty.
"There [were] a few people coming in and out last night. I cannot remember who it was. It's exciting. I'm happy that someone in my hometown won," she said.
While the winner has yet to come forward and claim their prize, New Jersey Lottery executive director James Carey has a tip for them.
"I don't know who the winner is. We know where it was sold and when it was sold, but we don't know who it was sold to," Carey said.
"If you are the winner, I encourage you right now [to] sign the back of the ticket, take a picture of it, make a copy of it, and put it in a safe place."
He added, "Tell only your closest loved ones that you were this lucky winner and then would urge you: go out and talk to a lawyer and maybe a financial adviser. Talk to someone [who's] a professional about what to do with your newfound wealth and how to handle it."
"Nobody is used to going from being a regular person to a millionaire or a hundred-millionaire overnight."
