New Jersey Mega Millions Winning Ticket Worth $1.13B Still Unclaimed 

More than six months after a $1.13 billion winning lottery ticket was sold in a small New Jersey town, no one has come forward to claim their prize. 

The first Mega Millions jackpot win of 2024 hit back in March, with the winning ticket purchased at ShopRite Liquor in Neptune Township, New Jersey. 

The winner has another six months to come forward and claim the massive sum before the winning ticket expires and the prize is paid out to the state of New Jersey. 

“The winner should contact the New Jersey Lottery as soon as possible to begin the claim process. We recommend the lucky winner seek professional legal and financial advice. The winner will have until March 26, 2025, to file their claim before the ticket expires,” the New Jersey Lottery said in a press release.

The Wait

It isn’t common for lottery winners to wait this long to come forward, although it does happen on occasion. The winner would be the fifth-biggest U.S. lottery winner of all-time. Edwin Castro of California, who won $1.3 billion in 2023, holds the current record for biggest winner.

The NJ winning numbers were 11, 22, 29, 38 and the Mega Ball – four. 

One Mega Millions jackpot winner in North Carolina in 2022 took just shy of six months to contact the lottery.

The reasons could be many. Although New Jersey does allow online ticket purchases through courier apps like Jackpocket, if the winning ticket had been purchased through one of them, the winner would have been notified.

So, most likely, the big winner is sitting in a drawer, under a car seat, or thrown in the trash.

The winner, if they do somehow find the ticket in time, is also lucky they live in New Jersey. In most states that run Mega Millions games, players have much less time to collect their wins. 

In Oregon, lottery winners get 60 days to claim a win. In Iowa, Mexico, and South Carolina, it’s 90 days. In 27 other states, the cutoff is six months. New Jersey is one of 13 states that give lottery winners a year to come forward. 

The Win

If they do claim their prize, the winner will first have to decide if they want the 30-year annuity on the full $1.13 billion sum, or a one-time cash payment of $537.5 million.

Then they will have to handle taxes and decide whether they want to remain anonymous. In the small township of Neptune, New Jersey, (population 27,000), the winner has already been the talk of the town before anyone has even claimed the prize. 

The store that sold the winner is also on tenterhooks, as they are due a million-dollar windfall to share with staff if and when the jackpot win is claimed.