By: Richard L. Smith
The Mega Millions jackpot, which had been growing for over 15 weeks, finally found its winner in New Jersey.
A single ticket matched all the numbers drawn on Tuesday night - white balls 7, 11, 22, 29, and 38, plus the gold Mega Ball 4 - clinching the colossal estimated prize of $1.13 billion, with a cash option of $537.5 million.
This win marks the first Mega Millions jackpot of 2024 and is the fifth largest in the game's history.
The official jackpot amount will be confirmed after finalizing sales from all 47 participating jurisdictions.
Gretchen Corbin, President and CEO of the Georgia Lottery and lead director of the Mega Millions Consortium, extended congratulations to both the New Jersey Lottery for selling the winning ticket and to the lucky jackpot winner.
Corbin highlighted the benefits of the jackpot run, including the numerous prizes won across various levels and the significant contributions to charitable causes.
During this jackpot run, which began after the last win on December 8, there were over 29.9 million winning tickets, encompassing all prize levels.
This includes 56 second-tier prizes of $1 million or more, distributed across 22 jurisdictions nationwide.
The March 26 drawing alone saw 3,693,854 winning tickets, with thirteen lucky winners taking home the second-tier prize.
One ticket from New York, enhanced by the optional Megaplier, is worth $2 million, while the remaining twelve secured $1 million each.
The drawing also produced 171 third-tier prize winners, with 34 of these tickets including the Megaplier, each worth $20,000, and the other 137 winning $10,000 each.
The New Jersey Lottery, a foundational member of the Mega Millions Consortium since 2002, celebrates its 24th Mega Millions jackpot win with this recent victory.
This latest win reaffirms New Jersey's lucky streak, following the last jackpot win in the state on July 24, 2020.
