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
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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.