Winning numbers are significant for big NJ winner Drawing Date: 12/2/2025 December 9, 2015 - As far as signs from above go, a bird flying into a window at 11 p.m. might not be the most auspicious of omens. For the $90 Million Mega Millions winner in Hudson County, it will do just fine, thank you very much. “I was up (the night of the drawing). Hoping for something. Then – whomp – a bird hit my window,” the newly minted multi-millionaire said Monday when visiting the New Jersey Lottery office to claim their prize for the Mega Millions jackpot won Dec. 2. “I knew something was coming for me, but I didn’t know just what.” That “what” turned out to be the jackpot. The winner will collect the cash value of the prize, which is nearly $42 million. New Jersey law allows Lottery winners in the Garden State to remain anonymous. The Mega Millions winner wished to remain private but was willing to discuss aspects of the experience. The winning numbers were 17, 25, 26, 53 and 60. The gold Mega Ball was 16. Each number carried a special significance for the winner, commemorating various life milestones. “I have dreamed of those numbers,” the player said. The numbers hadn’t always delivered, until the player decided to try something different at the Garden State News, which is in the heart of Union City’s Bergenline Avenue business district. “I played some of my numbers for Pick-4. Nothing,” the player said, before noting that they decided to play the Mega Millions on the last Sunday of November, two days before the eventful drawing. “I finished work and I came in and played the Mega and used all of my numbers.” The player did not pay very much attention to the excitement in the community as it buzzed about Garden State News selling the winning ticket. It wasn’t until later in the week when the player went to the store and checked the ticket at the store’s Lottery scanner. “People were all about asking ‘Who do you think won the prize?’ I just stood there, watching and sipping my coffee,” the player said. The clerk behind the counter scanned the ticket, but waited for the crowd to thin out before showing the player the prize notice. “I showed the player that they won,” the clerk said. “They still didn’t believe. Then they cried.” To be sure, the player was overwhelmed in the moment. But, after a few days of reflection is grounded. “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.”