New Jersey Pick 6

Pick-6 Lotto is a lottery jackpot game in the New Jersey, with drawings on Mondays and Thursdays.

It began in May 1980 as one of the first games of its kind in the United States. It originally was a pick-6 (hence the name) of 39 numbers. Players paid $1 for each game; a winning ticket needed at least four correct numbers in a game. It later went to a 6/42 matrix, followed by an additional change to 6/46; making even higher jackpots possible. New Jersey did not join The Big Game (now Mega Millions) until May 1999.

Until 2000, each $1 play also produced a quick-picked five-digit "bonus" number. A perfect match entered the ticket holder into a periodic "bonus" drawing, with a top prize of $50,000 per year for 20 years. The final "bonus" drawing was held in 2001, about a year after the "bonus" number was no longer drawn.

The cash option began in 1997; however, it applied only to the jackpot. Top-prize "bonus" drawing winners could not collect the cash value of the "million-dollar" prize, even if the original ticket (bought by the player) had "cash value" chosen.

The current (as of July 2008) game is a 6/49, which began in September 2000; no "bonus" number of any kind is drawn. Unlike with the previous matrixes, there is a $3 prize for matching three numbers. Matching at least four numbers wins a parimutuel prize, as in the older versions.Pick 6 is normally drawn Mondays and Thursdays, with Mega Millions drawn one night later. The jackpots start at $2 million (the cash value is not publicized), and the payout percentage is 50%.

Since the cash option began, the rules have changed somewhat on how the choice is/was to be made. As of July 2008, players must choose lump sum or annuity when the ticket is bought; however, an annuity ticket can be changed to cash after winning.

As with all New Jersey Lottery games, the minimum age to buy a ticket is 18.

External links

* [http://www.state.nj.us/lottery/games/1-2_pick6.shtml New Jersey Lottery Pick 6 Lotto page]