New Jersey Resident Cashes In Fifth-Largest Mega Millions Win Of All-Time

The home of the $1.128 billion Mega Millions jackpot, the first jackpot in 2024, has been awarded to a New Jersey resident. 

The ticket was sold on March 26 in Neptune Township. All six numbers matched, and thus, the 28th jackpot winner ever in the state was crowned. 

“Congratulations to the winner of this life changing jackpot! We encourage the winner to immediately sign the back of the ticket, make a copy of both sides and put it in a safe place. The Lottery has a Winner’s Guide on our website at NJLottery.com and we encourage the winner to read it before reaching out to Lottery officials at 1-800-222-0996 to file a claim for this jackpot prize,” New Jersey Lottery Executive Director James Carey said.

Ticket Sold at ShopRite Liquor

To be more precise, the ticket was sold at ShopRite Liquor, and the cash value of the lottery ticket was $537.5 million. ShopRite Liquor will also receive a $30,000 commission for selling the winning ticket that possessed the numbers 7, 11, 22, 29, 38, and a Mega Ball of 4. 

This is the first win in New Jersey since July 24, 2020, and the first jackpot since March 2018, which was for $533 million. 

This $1.128 billion amount is the fifth all-time. The largest ever was for $1.602 billion in Florida. 

This wasn’t the only winning ticket in the state, though, as ten others won prizes totaling $120,000. This includes two winners who matched either four or five of the numbers for a prize of $10,000, also doubled with a Megaplier ticket. The other eight received $10,000 as they didn’t have Megaplier. 

In all, 190,508 players combined for $806,876 in winnings on prizes ranging from $2 to $400. 

Who's the Winner?

In New Jersey, lottery winners are allowed to remain anonymous. With that, their identity is sealed under the Open Public Records Act. However, to claim prizes beyond $600, they must provide proof of identification. 

This was the first Mega Millions win in 2024. In 2023, there were 10 Mega Millions winners. 

“Congratulations to the New Jersey Lottery for selling a jackpot-winning ticket in Tuesday’s $1.128 billion Mega Millions drawing,” said Georgia Lottery President and CEO Gretchen Corbin, lead director of the Mega Millions Consortium. “We celebrate our new jackpot winner, as well as all the prizes won and dollars raised for good causes during this exciting jackpot run.”

As the Garden State is also home to numerous NJ online casinos, eager players can also try their luck with so many potential jackpot opportunities there.