$90M Mega Millions Winner Cried In Store Before Collecting Jackpot: NJ Lottery

HUDSON COUNTY, NJ — On the night of Dec. 2, a lottery player in New Jersey heard a bird smash into the window of their home. They knew it was a sign of something big — but weren't sure what.

The player didn't realize that they'd won that night's $90 million Mega Millions lottery drawing until they strolled into a local store days later to check, according to the NJ Lottery.

The NJ Lottery announced, in a press release on Tuesday, that the winner had collected their jackpot, but they kept most of the person's identifying details anonymous.

The person had bought their winning ticket in late November at a small shop on Bergenline Avenue in Union City, a lottery spokesman said.

Hitting The Jackpot

The NJ Lottery staff and Union City public officials converged last week at Garden State News on Bergenline Avenue to hold a press conference about the winning ticket that was purchased there, but didn't know at the time who had won the prize.

That's because the winner — who wants to stay anonymous — didn't check if they'd won until days later, a lottery spokesman said Tuesday.

“I was up [the night of the drawing] hoping for something," the lucky player revealed in a NJ Lottery press release issued Tuesday. "Then—whomp—a bird hit my window. I knew something was coming for me, but I didn’t know just what.”

The winner will collect the cash value of the prize, which is nearly $42 million, lottery spokesperson Michael Boone said Tuesday.

Players have a choice to accept the $90 million in annual installments over 30 years, or get a lump sum based on prevailing interest rates, Boone explained.

The player will get a direct deposit to their bank account, which takes about a month to process, he said.

Bought Ticket After Work

The winning numbers were 17, 25, 26, 53 and 60. The gold Mega Ball was 16.

The winning player said they had bought the ticket after work at the end of November.

The chosen numbers commemorate various life milestones for the player, the press release said.

“I have dreamed of those numbers,” the player told the NJ Lottery. “I played some of my numbers for Pick-4. Nothing."

Then then played the Mega Millions two days before the drawing.

“I finished work and I came in and played the Mega and used all of my numbers," the person said.

The player decided to wander into the store several days after the drawing, to see if they had won.

“People were all about asking ‘Who do you think won the prize?’ " the player said. "I just stood there, watching and sipping my coffee."

The clerk who scanned the ticket then waited for the crowd to thin out before showing the player a prize notice.

“I showed the player that they won,” the clerk said, in a statement to the NJ Lottery. “They still didn’t believe. Then they cried.”

“This will allow my family to be financially free,” the player said. “But I want to be careful. I don’t want this to change my life.”

The store got a $30,000 bonus for selling the winning ticket.

“I’m so happy for Union City and Bergenline,” said Union City Council member Maryuri Martinetti, who attended the news conference last week with fellow council member Celin Valdivia.

Read more about the prize here: NJ Winner Claims $90M Mega Millions Jackpot