A winning ticket for the estimated $1.13 billion Mega Millions jackpot, which was sold in New Jersey, was drawn on Tuesday, the third time the grand prize has topped a billion since January of last year.
If the winner chooses to take a lump sum in cash, the prize is $537.5 million. The full $1.13 billion can be taken through 29 annual payments.
The $1.13 billion pot became the fifth-largest jackpot ever awarded in Mega Millions.
It was the sixth Mega Millions jackpot above $1 billion, according to a statement from the lottery. There was one each in 2018, 2021 and 2022, and two in 2023. The largest was $1.6 billion, awarded to a winner in Florida in August.
The odds of winning the game’s jackpot are 1 in 302,575,350. But billion-dollar jackpots have become more common since Mega Millions and Powerball made changes in recent years that make it harder to win. The more drawings without a winner, the larger the jackpot grows.
