WASHINGTON — Just as quickly as the Mega Millions jackpot rose above $1 billion, it was all won by a single ticket in Tuesday's drawing.
The winning ticket, issued in New Jersey, is worth an estimated $1.13 billion, the fifth-largest prize in Mega Millions history and the seventh-largest U.S. lottery jackpot.
The winning numbers drawn Tuesday night were 7-11-22-29-38, 4 MegaBall and 2x Megaplier.
State lottery officials said the winning ticket was sold at ShopRite Wines & Spirits of Neptune, which is located on the Jersey Shore.
Before Tuesday, Mega Millions hasn't seen a grand prize winner since December 8, 2023, when two tickets shared a $394 million jackpot.
Alongside the freshly minted billionaire are a number of millionaires with winning tickets. Those match-five tickets got all five white ball numbers correct in the drawing.
A ticket in California, one in Colorado, two in Florida, two in Georgia, one in Illinois, one in Indiana, one in Michigan, two in New York and one ticket in Ohio all won $1 million Tuesday night.
And talk about New Jersey being lucky: A second winning ticket from that state is worth $2 million because its owner picked the five white ball numbers correctly, and selected the more expensive Megaplier option to double their winnings.
Powerball's jackpot is also creeping toward $1 billion, with $865 million up for grabs Wednesday.
Last year was a big year for massive lottery jackpots, with two Mega Millions jackpots and one Powerball jackpot each worth over $1 billion.
The odds of winning the jackpot are one in 302,575,350.
Mega Millions winning numbers for Tuesday, March 26, 2024
The winning numbers were 7-11-22-29-38, 4 MegaBall and 2x Megaplier.
When is the Mega Millions drawing?
Mega Millions drawings take place on Tuesday and Friday at 11 p.m. Eastern Time.
What are the largest US lottery jackpots ever?
- $2.04 billion, Powerball, Nov. 8, 2022 (one ticket, from California)
- $1.602 billion, Mega Millions, August 8, 2023 (one ticket, from Florida)
- $1.586 billion, Powerball, Jan. 13, 2016 (three tickets, from California, Florida, Tennessee)
- $1.537 billion, Mega Millions, Oct. 23, 2018 (one ticket, from South Carolina)
- $1.348 billion Mega Millions, Jan. 13, 2023 (one ticket, from Maine)
- $1.337 billion, Mega Millions, July 29, 2022 (one ticket, from Illinois)
- $1.13 billion (estimated), Mega Millions, March 26, 2024
- $1.08 billion, Powerball, July 19, 2023 (one ticket, from California)
- $1.05 billion, Mega Millions, Jan. 22, 2021 (one ticket, from Michigan)
- $842.4 million, Powerball, Jan. 1, 2024 (one ticket, from Michigan)
The Associated Press contributed to this report.