Friday’s Mega Millions Jackpot Is $444 Million

On Tuesday, no one won the $418 million Mega Millions Jackpot, although the New Jersey Lottery says a ticket worth $1 million was sold at The Mart on Shrewsbury Ave. in Tinton Falls (Monmouth County).

Since no one won the jackpot, the prize for tomorrow night's drawing is now an estimated $444 million.  That makes it the biggest Mega Millions prize so far this year.

Mega Millions tickets cost $2, but I just discovered that New Jersey offers a Just The Jackpot wager where for $3, a player gets 2 chances to win, as the name says, Just The Jackpot.  That means those tickets are not eligible to win any other prizes.

In some ways, I think it's worth it because you're getting 2 tickets for the price of 1 1/2.  On the other hand, can you imagine discovering that you matched 5 of the 6 winning numbers, but because you chose Just The Jackpot, you missed out on winning a million dollars?

The Mega Millions website says that there are 8 prizes other than the jackpot.  Those prizes range from $2 to $1 million.

Friday night's drawing will happen at 11pm EST and you must purchase tickets before 10:45pm EST.  You can search for a New Jersey Lottery retailer at the bottom of the homepage at NJLottery.com.