Tonight’s Mega Millions drawing has a jackpot worth $54 million with a $25.7 million cash option, but if you want to play in tonight’s game, be prepared to spend more than twice as much for a ticket as you’re probably used to.
Here’s how much you will spend for a ticket in tonight’s Mega Millions lottery, and how much it costs to play the lotteries in New Jersey.
How much Mega Millions lottery tickets?
Mega Millions operators announced last month that tickets for Mega Millions drawing will cost $5, beginning with tonight’s drawing.
Mega Millions lottery tickets sold for $2 for nearly a decade.
Tickets to the Mega Millions lottery have increased to $5, beginning with the Tuesday, April 8 drawing.
Officials said this ticket increase is only the second time an increase occurred, and first since the current game matrix was adopted in 2017.
Mega Millions odds of winning to increase with higher ticket prices
Mega Millions released an award matrix which outlined the new lottery winnings that coincide with the higher ticket prices.
Mega Millions also provided a list of lottery enhancements.
2X-10X prize increase with built-in random multiplier
Faster-growing jackpots and bigger jackpots more frequently
Improved odds to win the jackpot
How much does it cost to play the lotteries in New Jersey?
While Mega Millions lottery tickets will cost more, you’ll still pay the same to play the other lotteries in New Jersey.
New Jersey operates six state-run lotteries: Pick-3, Pick-4, Jersey Cash 5, Pick-6, Quick Draw, and Cash Pop, along with the multi-state Powerball lottery.
Cash4Life lottery tickets also remain at $2 in New Jersey.
Damon C. Williams is a Philadelphia-based journalist reporting on trending topics across the Mid-Atlantic Region.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Playing the Mega Millions in NJ tonight? Why it’ll cost $5 now