The $1.13 billion Mega Millions jackpot from March has been claimed by a New Jersey player, state lottery officials announced on Monday.
The winning ticket, sold at a ShopRite liquor store in Neptune Township, New Jersey, had all of the winning numbers in the drawing for the jackpot.
The winner, a resident of New Jersey, submitted the winning ticket and “has begun the process of collecting the prize,” the New Jersey Lottery said in a press release.
New Jersey law grants Lottery winners a year’s time from the date of the drawing to file a claim before the ticket expires.
“It is common for large jackpot winners to take their time to file a claim,” lottery officials said in a press release.
At $1.128 billion, the jackpot is the fifth highest in the game’s nearly 30-year history, the Lottery said. In addition to the six matching balls, the winner also paid for the “Megaplier” number of 02, a $1 optional feature in the lottery that allows players to multiply their winnings. Prize-wise, a moot point in this case, as the feature does not apply to the jackpot prize.
Players can either opt for an annually increasing payout of the jackpot spread over 30 years, or a one-time cash payout.
The New Jersey winner opted to receive the cash value of the prize, which is $537.5 million before state and federal taxes.
According to Usamega.com, Federal taxes on winnings over $5,000 are 24 percent; New Jersey state taxes another 10.75 percent, with an 8 percent initial withholding at the time of payout.
“The New Jersey player values privacy and has chosen to remain anonymous,” the New Jersey Lottery said.
To claim their prizes, winners of $600 or more must provide valid ID to Lottery officials, however, they can choose for their identity to remain secret from the public. A new state law voted in 2020, allows lottery winners in New Jersey to choose to remain anonymous to the public indefinitely.
The March jackpot marked the sixth time the Mega Millions grand prize surpassed $1 billion.
The largest Mega Millions jackpot was $1.602 billion and won by a Floridan in August 2023. Other top jackpots were won in South Carolina ($1.537 billion in 2018), Maine ($1.348 billion in January, 2023), and Illinois ($1.337 billion in 2022).
The Mega Millions jackpot reached the $1 billion mark for the seventh time just ahead of the Christmas Eve drawing—the equivalent of $448.8 million cash.
On Wednesday, the Lottery confirmed no one won the Jackpot, but four lucky winners took home a $1 million prize, matching the five white balls; the winning tickets were sold in California, Missouri, Pennsylvania and Wyoming.
The jackpot has been rolling since it was last won at $810 million in Texas on September 10. Since then, 60 people won the second-tier prize of $1 million—with some multiplied by the “Megaplier” option, the Lottery said.