Nearly $1 Billion In Possible NJ Lottery Winnings This Weekend

This could be one of those rare weekends where nearly $1 billion can be won in lottery prizes.

The Mega Millions and Powerball jackpots combined have never been this high at the same time during the same week. For $4, New Jerseyans can play both games and chase separate jackpots totaling $995 million, according to lottery officials.

The Mega Millions jackpot for the Friday drawing is worth $445 million. Mega Millions costs $2 to play. The Powerball jackpot for Saturday stands at $550 million. A Powerball ticket costs $2.

In New Jersey, tickets for both games are sold until 10:59 p.m. on drawing nights. Players are encouraged to play early to avoid the possibility of encountering lines at retailers.

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“The Powerball jackpots are producing excitement among our New Jersey lottery players who want to seize the opportunity to strike it rich in 2018. Importantly, we remind everyone to play responsibly," said John M. White, New Jersey Lottery acting executive director. "It only takes one ticket to get in the game.”

In the Wednesday, Jan. 3 Powerball drawing, there were two New Jersey Lottery tickets sold that matched the 4 white balls and the Powerball drawn, winning the $50,000 third prize. If those tickets had been purchased with Power Play, it would have multiplied the prize to $150,000.

The tickets were purchased at the following locations:

• Essex County: Woodside Deli Grocery, 311 Woodside Ave., Newark
• Hudson County: Acapulco Plaza Grocery & Deli, 618 Broadway, Bayonne.

The winning numbers for the Wednesday drawing were: 02, 18, 37, 39 and 4 2. The Red Power Ball number was 12. The Multiplier number was 03.

In addition to the third-tier prize-winning tickets sold, there were 152,476 New Jersey players who took home an estimated $776,271 in prizes ranging from $4 to $300, according to White.

“Congratulations to all of the lottery players who purchased winning tickets and to the retailers that sold them,” said White. “I’d like to remind players to purchase their Powerball tickets with a winning attitude and add Power Play to the ticket purchase. Power Play doubles the second prize from one million dollars to two million dollars

View all New Jersey Lottery game winning numbers and drawings for the Pick-3, Pick-4, Jersey Cash 5, Pick-6, CASH4LIFE and 5 Card Cash games on the Lottery website (www.NJLottery.com) or on the official Lottery Facebook Page. Mid-day and evening draws, with the exception of CASH4LIFE and 5 Card Cash, can be seen on WPIX-TV (PIX11) in New York and WPHL-TV (PHL17) in Philadelphia. Powerball and Mega Millions drawings can be seen on WABC-TV or WTXF stations.

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