Winning Mega Millions Numbers
The winning numbers for Friday 30th March were 11, 28, 31, 46 and 59, plus Mega Ball 1. A sequence of 23 rollovers had pushed the top prize past the half-a-billion-dollar mark for only the fourth time, and a late surge of ticket sales carried the jackpot well beyond its initial estimate of $521 million.
Two participants - from Ohio and Texas - matched all five main numbers without the Mega Ball to win $1 million, but the player from New Jersey went one better to match the full winning line. The jackpot had not previously been won since 20-year-old Shane Missler from Florida banked $451 million on 5th January.
Fourth in the Rankings
Friday’s jackpot ranks fourth in the list of all-time Mega Millions prizes, just behind the $540 million won by a ticket holder from Indiana on 8th July 2016. The record still stands at $656 million, and was set exactly six years before the latest win when three players - from Maryland, Illinois and Kansas - shared the jackpot on 30th March 2012.
New Jersey Winner
The latest win is the largest lottery prize to have ever been won in New Jersey, and it has been announced that the ticket was bought at the Lukoil gas station on Route 23 in Riverdale, a small town located about 25 miles northwest of New York City.
New Jersey Lottery officials have warned against spreading rumours about the winner’s identity, but store owner Ameer Krass has suggested it is a regular customer at the store. Officials often check footage from security cameras to see when a winning sale was made, and Krass says the information about the date and time was shared with him.
Krass said: “I know them, and they are one of our regulars, which is great. That’s what we were hoping for. Although we have hundreds, maybe thousands of customers, we know the majority of them by face, by name.”
What Next?
The winner has a year from the date of the draw to come forward and claim their prize. They can then choose whether to receive the full jackpot amount in 30 annual instalments or a one-off lump sum of $324.6 million. Winners in New Jersey have to go public due to the state’s Open Records laws, and anyone hoping they might be able to stay anonymous if they form a trust - like the recent Powerball winner from New Hampshire - has been told that will not be possible.
Meanwhile, the Mega Millions jackpot will now reset to its base value of $40 million for the next draw on Tuesday night. Players can take part by visiting retailers in participating states or by choosing numbers online.
