California second-prize winner wins $1M 'mini-jackpot'
Once again, the Garden State got lucky, as a single ticket sold in Ocean County grabbed last night's $216 million Mega Millions annuity windfall.
Since 2004, New Jerseyans have won more than $1 billion in Mega Millions jackpots.
The payout in cash — the usual option — would be about $140.6 million. Before 25 percent gets snatched for federal taxes, of course. The good news on the tax front is that unlike many other states, New Jersey does not impose state tax on lottery prizes.
The winning numbers were 26, 32, 35, 43 and 52, with a Mega Ball of 10. The Texas Megapllier number was 4.
Nineteen tickets sold in eight other states came close, missing only the Mega Ball to nab a prize of $250,000 each: 1 from California, 1 from Georgia, 2 from Illinois, 4 from Michigan, 5 from New York, 3 from Ohio, 2 from Texas, and 1 from Virginia.
The California second-prize winner, however, will receive a prize of $1,029,057 before taxes, because California is the only state to award all the Mega Millions pari-mutuel. Sometimes that policy awards less than the other states, and sometimes it awards more, but this time it awarded a lot more.
Since there was no second-prize winner in California last drawing, the $440,146 set aisde for second-prize rolled into this drawing's second-prize. The total prize pool for each prize level in California is divided by the number of winners at that level, and because there was just one second-prize winner in this drawing, the lucky ticket-holder is awarded the entire prize pool.
The New Jersey jackpot-winning ticket macthing all the Mega Millions numbers was sold at Singin Oil in Toms River. The gas station will get a $10,000 bonus for selling the ticket, whose value was revised upward by $4 million this morning.
A manager at the station declined to comment, saying he was too busy.
The big win follows two other tickets in the region striking it rich on Saturday.
Half of a $174 million Powerball jackpot will go to someone who bought a ticket at Plymouth Meeting Mall. The other half is earmarked for a patron of Benbow's Package Store in Dover, Del.
No word, as of this morning, about the identities of those winners.
Tonight's new Powerball jackpot is worth $20 million.
New Jersey, one of a dozen Mega Millions states, has a history of hitting major jackpots.
- In December, the Lopes family of Union County claimed a $126 million jackpot.
- The December before, a group of Morris County educators won half of a $163 million prize.
- In August 2007, a Cape May County couple won a quarter of a $330 million jackpot, one of the largest U.S. jackpots ever.
- The biggest U.S. jackpot ever — worth $390 million — was split by another Cape May County couple and a Georgia man in March 2007.
- In September 2005, a Bergen County couple nabbed $258 million, the biggest single payout in state history.
- And that's not to mention another half-dozen Jersey-won jackpots worth under $50 million.
Counting last night's win, the annuity value of Jersey's jackpots tops $1 billion. In cash, the total would be closer to $500 million.
And that's not all. In May 2004, a North Jersey couple won a Powerball jackpot of $213 million by buying a ticket in Bucks County. (They opted for the $110 million cash.)
Pennsylvania's been on a bit of a roll as well. The Powerball jackpot is the fourth won in the state since August.
The Mega Millions jackpot goes back to $12 million for Friday's drawing.
Could the winning ticket have been purchased by Todd or Maddog?
I'm moving to New Jersey
I was thinking the same way Thatscarychick you read my mind i think is maddog lol todd do not play megamillion , just joking
I do play, but did not win.
wasn't me either- glad my home state won it though.
I was just hearing on the news earlier although one ticket won, 10 people will benefit from it. Some sort of lottery pool at a company in NJ. Damn, I would've settle for second prize (LOL). Congrats to the lucky winners. Perhaps one of them is a long lost cousin
But would you tell us if you did win?
Good point MaddMike51..would anyone from LP tell the group that they won the jackpot....i have always wondered about this...TO TELL,, OR NOT TO TELL,,,
any feedback on this subject..
Wednesday evening around 4:30pm,i told a group of people waiting in line(in NYC) that someone in NJ will win the Mega, i'm not making this up! And i was right.
Todd replied but wheeeeeere's Maddog?????
I just saw the news conference online with the winners. They were all in a conference room at work.... My work... I work with/for some of them. All the people in the pool I run are sending me messages about why we didn't win... Lightning can strike twice and I'm counting on it. Next time...
MY NEIGHBOR JUST WON THIS!!!!!! NOT JOKING!!!!!!!!!!!!! THE LaFONTAINES WON 20 MILLION DOLLARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I AM FRIENDS WITH THEIR DAUGHTER!!!!!
my neighbor won this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! im not joking!!!We are going over tonight to celebrate!!!
So much for staying anonymous.