By: Richard L. Smith
The Mega Millions jackpot continues its climb toward the billion-dollar mark after no player matched all six numbers in this weekend’s drawing.
The massive prize now stands at $900 million for Tuesday night’s draw, with a cash value of $415.3 million, according to information from the New Jersey Lottery.
This marks the eighth-largest jackpot in Mega Millions history. So far in 2025, four jackpots have been won nationwide.
The last time a New Jersey player struck gold was in March 2024, when a Monmouth County ticket matched all numbers to win $1.128 billion, the sixth-largest prize ever recorded.
Top Mega Millions jackpots in history include:
• $1.602 billion – August 8, 2023 (Florida)
• $1.537 billion – October 23, 2018 (South Carolina)
• $1.348 billion – January 13, 2023 (Maine)
• $1.337 billion – July 29, 2022 (Illinois)
• $1.269 billion – December 27, 2024 (California)
• $1.128 billion – March 26, 2024 (Monmouth County, NJ)
• $1.050 billion – January 22, 2021 (Michigan)
• $900 million – Current run
While no one has yet claimed the top prize, plenty of New Jersey players have scored major wins thanks to the state’s multiplier option, added in April.
The new feature randomly multiplies non-jackpot winnings for free and has already boosted payouts for 16 New Jerseyans.
In recent months, an Ocean County player turned a $1 million base prize into $3 million with a 3X multiplier, while a Bergen County winner saw their $1 million payout quadruple to $4 million.
Just last week, on November 4, a Mercer County ticket holder doubled their $10,000 prize to $20,000.
Meanwhile, New Jersey players have several other jackpot opportunities this week:
• Powerball: $490 million (three NJ players recently won $50,000 each)
• Pick-6: $2.6 million
• Jersey Cash 5: $150,000, with two weekend wins totaling over $800,000 in Union and Ocean counties
• Cash4Life: Offers “for life” prizes of $1,000 a day or $1,000 a week; one NJ player has already won the $7 million cash option in 2025
Lottery officials are reminding players to check their tickets carefully and play responsibly as the Mega Millions jackpot continues its march toward the billion-dollar milestone.