A lucky player in New Jersey clinched the $1.13 billion Mega Millions jackpot last night, making it the fifth-largest prize ever. Meanwhile, in Illinois, one fortunate individual matched all five white balls, securing a handsome $1 million prize.
Editor's Note: The Illinois Lottery revealed the location where the ticket was sold. Our original story continues below.
No, it wasn't the $1.13 billion jackpot -- but one lucky Illinois lottery player matched a handful of Mega Millions numbers to win a cool $1 million in Tuesday's drawing.
While the jackpot-winning, $1.13 billion ticket was sold in New Jersey, 12 players across nine states also won big, matching five Mega Millions numbers to win $1 million each, the lottery website showed. Those tickets were sold in California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, New York and Ohio.
It wasn't immediately known where in Illinois the ticket was sold.
According to Mega Millions, the winning numbers for Tuesday's drawing were 7, 11, 22, 29, 38 and a MegaBall of 4.
Lottery officials said the New Jersey winner could opt for a $537.5 million cash option, which would be a one-time payment in lieu of receiving the full amount over 30 years.
MORE: $1 million winning Powerball ticket sold at Northwest Indiana gas station
U.S. & World
And despite the big money pot, the prize is still subject to taxes. Those include an automatic withholding tax of 24% levied against the winnings, and another 13% in federal taxes when you file your 2024 return.
There are also state taxes in some jurisdictions, which range from 2.9% to 10.9% depending on the state you live in. But if you're lucky enough to live in California, Florida, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington or Wyoming, you won't pay income in your winnings.
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Largest Mega Millions Jackpots in history
The jackpot has been gradually building for months thanks to 29 straight drawings without a jackpot winner. The last time someone won the game’s top prize was on Dec. 8, 2023, when two winning tickets were sold at the same gas station in Los Angeles, splitting the $394 million prize.
The largest Mega Millions jackpot ever, worth $1.602 billion, was sold on Aug. 8, 2023, in Florida.
In 2022, a $1.337 billion Mega Millions ticket was sold at a gas station in suburban Des Plaines.
Lottery jackpots grow so large because the odds of winning are so small. For Mega Millions, players have a 1 in 302.6 million chance of taking home the top prize.
The next Mega Millions drawing, with a jackpot of $20 million, is set for Friday, March 29 at 10 p.m. CST.
