A New Jersey resident recently came forward to claim the lottery prize money nine months after participating in the Mega Millions jackpot. As per the reports, the player won $1.128 billion on a Mega Millions jackpot ticket, which was drawn in March at a Monmouth County ShopRite in Neptune Township.
The Mega Millions jackpot first started in September 1996 with only six participating states and grew up to be one of the largest lottery games in the country, offering 45 states as well as the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands as of 2023. Each game costs $2 but will increase to $5 in April 2025.
The New Jersey player reportedly won the fifth largest prize amount in the history of the Mega Millions jackpot.
What are the biggest Mega Millions jackpot wins in history?
Since the beginning of the Mega Millions jackpots, various players across different states managed to win some of the highest prize amounts in history. In the game's 28-year history, the highest jackpot was won by a Florida player in August 2023, which amounted to $1.602 billion. Following that, the second-highest jackpot won was $1.537 billion by a South Carolina player in 2018.
Another player from Maine won $1.348 billion in January 2023, making it the third-highest Mega Millions jackpot win. Following that, in 2022, an Illinois player won the fourth-highest jackpot amount of $1.337 billion. Finally, this year's winner from New Jersey won $1.128 billion, making it the fifth-highest Mega Millions jackpot win.
Per the Mega Millions jackpot officials, the New Jersey player won the jackpot by matching the white ball numbers 7,11,22,29,38, along with the gold Mega Ball number 4. After the win, a player can claim the prize within one year from the drawing date.
"Congratulations to the New Jersey Lottery for selling a jackpot-winning ticket in Tuesday’s $1.13 billion Mega Millions drawing. We celebrate our new jackpot winner, as well as all the prizes won and dollars raised for good causes during this exciting jackpot run," Gretchen Corbin, lead director of the Mega Millions jackpot said in a previous statement.
The New Jersey winner, who preferred to be anonymous, is set to receive a cash value of $537.5 million, and the Monmouth County ShopRite in Neptune Township that sold the winning ticket recently received a $30,000 bonus commission check.
"It's an amazing thing when you think about how lucky we are to be the store that sold this ticket. It's 1 in 302 million," Richard Saker, the CEO and president of Saker ShopRites, stated in a press release.
Saker also added that the bonus check will be donated to the charitable program called ShopRite Partners in Caring, a community-based charitable program that fights to eradicate hunger.
"I am very proud to accept this commission check. This check will go directly to Fulfill, which is the local food bank that is right up the street from Monmouth and Ocean County. I’m sure the food bank is really going to appreciate this donation," Saker said.
The next jackpot drawing will take place on the Christmas Eve of 2024, valued at $970 million.
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"There’s just really not a product on the market for two bucks that will give you an opportunity throughout the course of a few days to just kind of imagine and dream what it would be like to win that sum of money, and that’s just so much fun to think about, especially around the holidays, when there’s already a sense of magic in the air,” Joshua Johnston, the lead director of the Mega Millions jackpot, stated as per CNN reports.
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