New Jersey Lottery Winners
The Garden State is home to some incredible jackpot winners. We have seen hundreds of millions being won by New Jersey players - thanks to the two multi-state games Mega Millions and Powerball.
There have also been significant wins in New Jersey that have been picked up from other games - such as Cash for Life, where the winner is paid $1,000 a day for the rest of their lives. Here’s a breakdown of the state's largest wins:
$1.13 Billion
Shockingly, the biggest Mega Millions win in New Jersey is still yet to be claimed. This win was picked up in March 2024 at ShopRite Liquor in Monmouth County, but the winner's identity remains a mystery. They have until March 26, 2025 to claim their prize or this unbelievable amount of money will be lost. Make sure you use our Number Checker page so you don’t miss out on any potential winnings.
$533 Million
Richard Wahl won Mega Millions on his second ever attempt. He told reporters that he “drives past that (Mega Millions) sign every day and doesn’t buy.” On a chance decision he decided to purchase a ticket at a Lukoil gas station in Riverdale and is now up there with some of the biggest lottery winners ever. Wahl chose to take the lump sum option of $324.6 million and has said he wanted to use this money to help relatives and others in need - “It’s not only life-changing money for me, but I want it to be life-changing money for others.”
$273 Million
Michael J Weirsky of Alpha experienced a near miss when he purchased his winning ticket from a QuickCheck in Phillipsburg. He left it on the counter after becoming distracted by his phone, but luckily the store kept it for him and he returned the following day to collect it. Weirsky, an unemployed handyman at the time, said the best advice he could give other lottery winners was to invest the money and learn how to say no to people, as everyone comes looking for a payout.
$429.6 Million
It was an incredible night for the Smith family when Pearlie and her seven adult children won the Powerball jackpot. One of Pearlie's daughters, Valerie Arthur, stated that it was “a big shock - a bigger shock when we learned we were the only ticket holder.” The Smiths decided to take the lump sum of $284 million - about $35 million each when split between them.
$338.3 Million
Pedro Quezada held the Powerball record for New Jersey for a three-year period after landing more than $338 million. Quezada, a Dominican immigrant with five children, owned a grocery store and regularly worked 5AM until 11 PM. He said he felt ‘pure joy’ when he found out that he had won and was looking forward to taking a step back. He decided to take the lump sum of $211 million.
$315.3 Million
Tayeb Souami picked up his lucky ticket at a ShopRite in Haversack after returning an orange juice that he had bought for $5. His wife told him he could get one for $2.50 elsewhere, but the Powerball sign caught his eye before he left so he purchased two tickets with the cash he was refunded. When he discovered the next day how luck the ticket was, he was left ‘shaking and emotional’. He quit his job as an accountant and said his first plan for the money was to pay for his daughter to go to college.
$48.9 million
The biggest Pick 6 win of all time came in February 2001, after the jackpot had climbed from its starting value all the way up to $48.9 million. James and Eileen Rath of Union, Union County, matched all the numbers and came forward quickly to claim the money. Pick 6 had originally launched in 1980 and regularly offers more than $20 million, with odds of winning that are far more favorable than Mega Millions or Powerball.
$2.4 Million
A lucky Garden State winner celebrated the largest NJ Cash 5 win to date, after purchasing a ticket from a retailer in Monmouth County. The winner, who has remained anonymous won the $2,439,721 Jackpot after matching all 5 numbers. The lucky ticket was sold at Wilson Avenue Deli in Port Monmouth, who also received a $2,000 bonus for selling the winning ticket!
Other Big New Jersey Lottery Winners
New Jersey’s other games do not offer quite the same huge sums, but the odds of winning are better and you can still claim some extraordinary payouts. Here are some of the biggest wins:
Cash for Life
New Jersey has been the home of many big Cash for Life winners. One player, who grabbed the second prize of $1,000 a week for life on April 18, 2024, revealed a remarkable story behind his success. He had received a message in a fortune cookie just a few days earlier that said ‘Believe in Miracles’. It was the first thing he remembered when he found out he had won, having ordered his ticket through a courier service. The lucky winner decided to stay anonymous.
Pick 3 and Pick 4
While Pick 3 and Pick 4 offer fixed prizes rather than a rolling jackpot, they can create huge paydays when certain number combinations are drawn. For example, the digits 999 were selected in the Pick 3 Evening draw on November 7th, 2024, resulting in a single-day record. There were 3,578 Straight winners who netted $250 each, while the prize fund totalled more than $1.1 million. More than $1 million was also paid out in the Evening Pick 4 draw on March 5th, when 262 players picked the winning numbers 1957 as a Straight (possibly using their birth year).
The combined Powerball and Mega Millions jackpots are currently estimated at...
