Mega Millions $273M winning ticket sold in New Jersey
FILE - In this July 1, 2016, file photo, Mega Millions lottery tickets rest on a counter at a Pilot travel center near Burlington, N.C. The jackpot for the Mega Millions lottery game has climbed to over $450 million, just hours before the drawing, Fr
A lucky person in New Jersey woke up on Saturday $273 million richer.
The winning Mega Millions ticket with all five matching numbers -- 29, 33, 39, 60, 66, plus the gold Mega Ball 21 -- was drawn on Friday night, according to a news release from the lottery. The ticket is worth about $273 million in annual installments over three decades, or a lump-sum package worth about $162 million.
If the winner wanted to stay anonymous, however, they’re out of luck: In New Jersey, winners are required to be identified (although under a proposed new law, they would be allowed to remain anonymous indefinitely, according to NJ.com).
The owner of the ticket now has 180 days to step forward; if the prize is not claimed in the allotted time frame, the money automatically returns to the participating states. Each state can use that money for different purposes.
Most experts stress that if the player gets lucky and hits all six numbers -- a 1 in 302 million chance -- they should first and foremost keep the news to themselves before hiring a trusted financial adviser in order to avoid the sudden pitfalls of overnight wealth.
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The Mega Millions jackpot had not been won since early January, when a group of 23 co-workers in New York won the $437 million prize.
After the drawing, the Mega Millions is now worth $40 million, with a cash option of $23.8 million. The Powerball, meanwhile, is worth $348 million. The next drawing takes place on Saturday.