TRENTON, N.J. — A Bergen County player won $4 million in Friday’s Mega Millions drawing, securing New Jersey’s largest payout since the game underwent a national format change in April.
The ticket, sold at 7-Eleven #34205 located at 1 Kinderkamack Road in Montvale, matched all five white balls drawn — 26, 49, 58, 61, and 63 — missing only the gold Mega Ball, which was 09. Under the new rules, the ticket was automatically entered in a random multiplier, which landed on 4X, boosting the prize from $1 million to $4 million.
Friday’s win marked the biggest non-jackpot payout for a New Jersey player since Mega Millions implemented new prize structures and odds. The jackpot, which no player claimed, now exceeds $326 million for the upcoming Tuesday drawing.
The revised game rules eliminated the need to purchase a separate multiplier add-on. Instead, every ticket now includes a built-in multiplier that can increase non-jackpot winnings. From April through mid-June, national non-jackpot prize payouts have topped $112 million—up from about $25 million under the old format.
Game changes increase odds, boost starting jackpots
The April update to Mega Millions also brought improved odds and bigger jackpots. The odds of winning any prize improved to 1 in 23, and the jackpot odds slightly improved to 1 in 290,472,336, following the removal of one gold Mega Ball from the drawing pool.
In addition to better odds, players now see a larger minimum jackpot of $50 million following each win, compared to the previous $20 million. Officials also reported faster-growing prize totals, with the average jackpot now projected at over $800 million.
All winning tickets now pay out at least $10, double the cost of entry, which increased to $5 with the April changes. In the previous version of the game, the minimum prize and entry fee were both $2.
The Bergen County ticket is one of several large wins credited to the game’s redesign, which has paid out significantly larger sums to non-jackpot winners nationwide.