Ask your New Jersey friends whether they will take you out to dinner in case they’re the latest lottery winner.
One winning ticket for Tuesday’s Mega Millions drawing was purchased in New Jersey, the lottery’s website said, breaking a jackpot-less streak that stretched to December. The ticket was sold in Neptune, Monmouth County.
The jackpot amounts to an estimated $1.13 billion, though the winner can receive annuity payments or a smaller lump sum.
The winning ticket marks the largest jackpot hit ever in New Jersey, surpassing 2018′s $533 million Mega Millions, according to the Bergen Record.
Tuesday’s winning Mega Millions numbers were 7, 11, 22, 29 and 38. The Mega Ball drawn was 4 with a Megaplier of 2X.
The winning ticket was sold in Neptune at ShopRite Liquor No. 781 on Route 66, New Jersey lottery officials said.
Still, a winner hasn’t come forward, and if this is a New Jersey resident, that may not be necessary.
New Jersey is one of a handful of states where lottery winners can remain anonymous, thanks to a law signed by Gov. Phil Murphy in 2020. In contrast, a winner’s name and hometown can be a public record in most states.
In Pennsylvania, lottery winners cannot remain anonymous. The state lottery system says it’s to ensure transparency.
The next Mega Millions drawing is on Friday, where the jackpot will reset to a much lower $20 million prize.
Mega Millions drawings are held weekly on Tuesdays and Fridays at 11 p.m.
To play the game, starting at $2 a ticket, players select five numbers from 1 to 70 and a number between 1 and 25 for the Mega Ball. Players can also use a random generator to select the numbers for them. For an upcharge of $1, players can add the Megaplier, which the winning New Jersey player did. The Megaplier increases the amount of your potential winnings up to five times the original prize, except the jackpot.
