Mystery man wins $1.13 billion jackpot in US, 8th largest in US history

Mystery man wins $1.13 billion jackpot in US, 8th largest in US history

A person in New Jersey scored a massive $1.13 billion Mega Millions jackpot, lottery officials revealed. The winning ticket perfectly matched all six numbers drawn on Tuesday, marking it as the fifth-largest prize ever won in Mega Millions history. This win also marks the first time this year that someone hit all the right numbers to claim the grand prize. This jackpot is estimated to be the eighth largest in US lottery history.

The person who won the mystery jackpot can choose to receive all the money at once or get it over 30 years in yearly payments. Before taxes, the lump sum payment for Tuesday night's drawing was estimated to be $537.5 million, according to Media.

Before the big win on Tuesday night, Mega Millions hadn't had a jackpot winner for over three months. There were 30 consecutive drawings without anyone winning the jackpot. The last time someone won the game's top prize was in December last year when two winning tickets were sold at the same gas station in Los Angeles, splitting the $394 million prize.

Now, the jackpot has been set back to its usual $20 million.

Mega Millions draws happen on Tuesday and Friday nights, while Powerball draws occur on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday nights. The chances of winning any prize in Mega Millions are 1 in 24, but the chances of winning the jackpot are only 1 in 302,575,350, according to media reports.

The upcoming major US lottery drawing is on Wednesday night, with an estimated $865 million Powerball jackpot up for grabs. Since New Year's Day, nobody has won that prize, resulting in 36 drawings without a winner.

In March, there have been many lucky lottery winners. A man from Wayne County, Michigan, won an amazing $110,000 Fantasy 5 Double Play lottery jackpot for the second time in just six months.

The winner, a 59-year-old who decided not to share his name, bought the winning ticket for the February 11th drawing at a BP gas station on West 9 Mile Road in Southfield. What's interesting is that this wasn't his first time winning the lottery. He had previously won the exact same jackpot amount in the August 31st, 2023, Fantasy 5 Double Play drawing, using the same set of numbers (02-06-11-20-23).