The NJ Lottery in Detail for Players
When it comes to life changing money, the lottery has always offered players a chance at becoming an instant millionaire. In New Jersey, the NJ Lottery is the state run lottery system that offers a number of weekly and daily draws. The history of the lottery dates back to 1969 when New Jersey voters approved the establishment of a State Lottery as part of the general election. In 1970, the first New Jersey Lottery tickets went on sale at 2000 lottery agent locations throughout the state. It wasn’t until 1971 that the lottery held its first millionaire drawing, changing the lives of two lucky winners.
Daily Draw Games
Today the NJ Lottery holds a number of daily draws as well as weekly mega draws where players can win massive prizes each week. The lottery also gives players the chance to play instant win and scratch card type games online or instore. The lottery draw games can be split into weekly draws and daily draws. The daily draw games are extremely popular and offer players the chance to win large prizes every day. The first of the three main daily draw games is the Pick-3 game. Originally started in 1975, Pick-3 is a 3 digit draw game that is drawn twice daily.
The Jersey Cash 5 Draw
The NJ Lottery Pick-3 game has a number of ways to win including a split, a pair, a box, a wheel and a straight. In 1987, a second daily draw game was introduced and was called Pick-4. Similar to Pick-3, this is a 4 digit draw game that has been drawn twice daily since 1991. There are two main ways to win in a Pick-4, these being a straight win and a box win. The third daily draw game is the Jersey Cash 5. This is drawn one every day where five balls a drawn from numbers 1-43. The lowest payout is 3 matching numbers with the highest payout being a progressive jackpot for all 5 matching numbers.
Pick-6 Xtra and Mega Millions
The NJ Lottery also offers a number of Jackpot games that are draw twice weekly. The first of the jackpot games is the Pick-6 Xtra jackpot game. Drawn on Mondays and Thursdays, the tickets cost $1 each. The game draws six numbers from a set from 1-49 and the jackpot starts at 2 Million Dollars with a minimum win for matching 3 numbers. The second major jackpot draw game is the Mega Millions draw. This a multi-jurisdictional game played in 43 states where the minimum guaranteed winning jackpot is 15 Million Dollars.
The Powerball Draw
The Mega Million draw takes place on Tuesdays and Fridays. Players must select 5 numbers from 1 to 75 and 1 Mega-ball number from 1-15. One of the most popular draws in the NJ Lottery is the Powerball game. This is also a multi-jurisdictional game where the guaranteed jackpot starts at 40 Million dollars. In this game, players must choose five numbers from 1-69 and 1 Powerball number from 1-26. The cost of a Powerball ticket is $2 and the draw takes place every Wednesday and Saturday night.