Mega Millions Ticket Worth $1.13B Redeemed Nine Months After Drawing
The Mega Millions ticket valued at nearly $1.13 billion, if the winner opted for the 30-year annuity, has finally been claimed.
On March 26, 2024, one ticket corresponded with the six selected numbers for Mega Millions. The numbers that won were 7, 11, 22, 29, 38, and the gold Mega Ball was 4.
Almost nine months later, the fortunate individual who beat the long odds of more than one in 302.5 million has stepped forward, though they are keeping their identity private. On Monday, officials from the New Jersey Lottery revealed that the winning jackpot ticket purchased at the ShopRite grocery and liquor store on Route 66 in Neptune Township had been claimed.
The victor selected the lump-sum cash choice of $537.5 million. Although certain states mandate that significant lottery winners disclose their identity to uphold public confidence, New Jersey permits lottery winners to stay anonymous for prizes exceeding $600. To claim their payout, winners of prizes less than that amount must reveal their identity to lottery officials.
Distribution of Payments
Besides granting winners anonymity, New Jersey offers them up to a year to claim their prizes. For a significant victory such as the March 2024 Mega Millions jackpot, the 12-month period allows winners plenty of opportunity to seek advice from their financial advisors and/or lawyers in determining whether to accept the total jackpot amount distributed over 30 years or the lump-sum cash option.
In this instance — like most large jackpot winners typically do — the winner chose the cash option. The $537.5 million is prior to a federal tax rate of 37% and an effective state tax of 10.75%.
The federal tax decreases the net payment by $198.8 million. The state additionally cuts the payout by $57.8 million, resulting in a total tax obligation of around $256.6 million, which is close to half of the initial prize. The total cash prize to take home is approximately $280.9 million.
Lottery officials had limited additional information to share, such as the winner's location, gender, age, and background related to playing Mega Millions. ShopRite announced that it contributed its $30K bonus award for selling the winning ticket to nearby food banks.
Permanently Unidentified
In 2020, legislators in New Jersey revised the state’s lottery regulations to permit anonymous prize claims. The bill received unanimous backing in the New Jersey Legislature.
Lottery representatives stated that the $1.13 billion jackpot winner “prefers to keep their privacy” and chose to stay anonymous.
"A 2020 New Jersey law allows lottery winners to remain anonymous indefinitely, and the identity of winners will not be included in materials available to public inspection under the State’s Open Public Records Act,” a release from the New Jersey Lottery explained. “Players claiming Lottery prizes worth at least $600 must still provide their identity to lottery officials to claim a prize.”
With a pre-tax total of $537.5 million, the Mega Millions jackpot in March 2024 ranked as the ninth-largest cash lottery reward in U.S. history and the sixth-greatest in Mega Millions history. Mega Millions is set to transform another life, with the announced annuitized jackpot for tomorrow night’s drawing at $944 million ($429.4 million cash option).
