NEPTUNE, NJ – The sole winner of a $1.13 Mega Millions jackpot has started collecting the prize, lottery officials said Monday.
The winning ticket was sold at a ShopRite on Route 66 in Neptune back in March.
It was the fifth largest Mega Millions jackpot everand the eighth largest in U.S. lottery history. The winning numbers were 7, 11, 22, 29, 38 and Mega Ball 4. The odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot are 1 in 302,575,350. The winning ticket in this case was not a quick choice, but chosen numbers.
It is not yet known whether the winner will receive the lump sum or annual payments for 30 years. Only people who receive the annual installments will receive the full prize. The estimated lump sum prize of the $1.13 billion jackpot was approximately $537 million, before taxes.
Previously, lottery winners had to come forward publicly to receive their winning checks. That changed a few years ago in New Jersey after Governor Phil Murphy signed a bill allowing lottery winners to remain anonymous.
The store that sold the winning ticket received a check for $30,000. ShopRite’s CEO said the money would be donated to a local food company serving Monmouth and Ocean counties.
The largest US lottery prize ever was a $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot won in 2023.
