A fortunate lottery player in New Jersey is waking up a newly minted billionaire after their ticket hit the $1.13 billion Mega Millions jackpot in Tuesday night’s drawing – the fifth-largest prize in the game’s history.
The winning numbers 7, 11, 22, 29, 38, and Mega Ball 4 were announced just before 11 p.m., confirming that a single ticket sold in the Garden State had beaten the incredible 1 in 302.6 million odds of taking home the jackpot’s $537.5 million lump sum cash value.
State lottery officials did not immediately disclose the specific location where the life-altering ticket was purchased. The holder can opt for the full advertised $1.13 billion prize paid out annually over 30 years.
This jackpot run had rolled over an astonishing 30 times since last being won on October 14, steadily ballooning in value each time no tickets matched all six numbers drawn. By the time someone finally hit big on Tuesday, it had reached a level surpassed only four times in Mega Millions history.
The record $1.537 billion Mega Millions jackpot from 2018 remains the biggest ever for the nationwide lottery game, while the $2.04 billion Powerball prize won last November by a California player stands as the all-time largest U.S. lottery jackpot.
Aside from the New Jersey grand prize winner, 13 other tickets matched the first five white balls on Tuesday to win the game’s second prize of at least $1 million. Some doubled their windfall with optional multipliers or increased payouts for certain states.
While the Mega Millions mania has ended, lottery fever will rapidly shift to tonight’s $865 million Powerball drawing. That estimated jackpot ranks as the fifth-largest in Powerball history, continuing an extraordinary stretch of massive lottery prizes up for grabs.
No matter who the newly minted Mega Millions billionaire turns out to be, they have secured a life of unimaginable wealth and financial security overnight through the slimmest of odds. Their wildly lucky ticket in the Garden State proved to be worth more than a billion reasons to play.
