A fortunate individual from New Jersey has captured the spotlight by matching all six numbers in Tuesday night's Mega Millions drawing, claiming the remarkable $1.13 billion jackpot.
This achievement marks the first jackpot win of the year, which had been steadily growing over 31 drawings since December 2023.
While the official jackpot amount will be finalized after sales figures from all participating jurisdictions are tallied, this recent $1.13 billion windfall stands as the fifth-largest prize in Mega Millions history, with a cash option of $537.5 million.
The identity of the New Jersey winner remains unknown, but they are the first Mega Millions jackpot winner from the Garden State in nearly four years, with the last win occurring in July 2020.
Gretchen Corbin, the lead director of the Mega Millions Consortium and President/CEO of the Georgia Lottery, congratulated the New Jersey Lottery for selling the jackpot-winning ticket, adding, "We celebrate our new jackpot winner, as well as all the prizes won and dollars raised for good causes during this exciting jackpot run."
The winning numbers from the March 26 drawing were 7, 11, 22, 29, and 38, with the Mega Ball being 4 and the Megaplier 2X.
Aside from the jackpot win in New Jersey, there was a $2 million Match 5 + Megaplier winner in New York, and $1 million Match 5 winners in California, Colorado, Florida (2), Georgia (2), Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and New York (2).
For those looking to try their luck, Mega Millions drawings take place in Atlanta every Tuesday and Friday at 11 p.m. ET, with the next drawing scheduled for Friday, March 29.
The Megaplier feature, available in most states for an additional $1 per play, can multiply non-jackpot prizes by two, three, four, or five times.
Tickets for Mega Millions cost $2 each, offering nine ways to win a prize, from the jackpot to $2. Players select five numbers from 1 to 70 and one Mega Ball number from 1 to 25. The jackpot is won by matching all six winning numbers.
The largest Mega Millions jackpots ever won are:
1. $1.602 billion from a single winning ticket in Florida in August 2023.
2. $1.537 billion from a single winning ticket in South Carolina in October 2018.
3. $1.35 billion from a single winning ticket in Maine in January 2023.
4. $1.34 billion from a single winning ticket in Illinois in July 2022.
5. $1.13 billion from a single winning ticket in New Jersey on March 26, 2024.