Feeling lucky, NJ? Jackpot rarely hits this level around the holidays

Someone has to hit the big prize eventually ... right?

As the New Jersey Lottery continues to wait since March for the state's biggest prize to be claimed, there's another major jackpot up for grabs, just in time for the holidays.

As of Tuesday morning, the top Mega Millions prize sits at $740 million: the eighth largest jackpot in the multi-state game's history.

The cash option is worth about $343 million.

The Mega Millions jackpot has not been hit since Sept. 10, when a ticket in Texas matched all six winning numbers. Since Sept. 10, dozens of second-tier prizes — worth $1 million or more — were won in several states, including New Jersey.

The last time the Mega Millions jackpot was close to this level around the winter holidays was in 2013.

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The next Mega Millions drawing is Tuesday night, at approximately 11:00. Tickets can be purchased for the same night's drawing until 10:45 p.m.

New Jersey Lottery is still waiting for someone to come forward and claim the $1.13 billion prize that was hit in March 2024. The winner has a year from the game's draw date to claim the prize.

The Mega Millions jackpot has been won only three times thus year. That's the lowest pace yet for the game.

Tickets are $2. You can add a "Megaplier" for $1 to multiply any non-jackpot prizes.

The next time the Mega Millions jackpot is hit, players will receive a free ticket for a week any time they buy a sheet of three picks, as part of a new promotion from New Jersey Lottery.

Your odds of hitting the top prize are 1 in 302,575,350.

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