That number has been tied to big wins

TRENTON (Dec. 12, 2024) – This month, we have a day that is special to New Jersey residents: Friday the 13th!

Sure, the alignment of day and date isn’t all that rare. It has happened about 1.72 times per year on average over the last couple millennia since the beginning of the Common Era.

However, ever since Jason Voorhees chased Kevin Bacon and fellow campers around Warren County’s Blairstown, Hope and Hardwick in the 1980 slasher film “Friday the 13th,” the date has always been top of mind in the Garden State. (Fun fact, the film’s “Camp Crystal Lake” in reality is No-Be-Bo-Sco, long a destination for New Jersey’s Scouting community).

For Lottery players, the day has also been notable. On a July, 2018, Friday the 13th, two New Jersey residents split a $1,675,204 jackpot. On Friday, Jan. 13, 2023, a Maine lottery player won a $1.348 billion Mega Million jackpot, the third largest in game history.

On this Friday the 13th, that luck could strike again as several drawings have big jackpots:

• Mega Millions, $670 million.
• Jersey Cash 5, $494,000.
• Quick Draw Progressive, $326,359 as of Thursday morning.
• While its drawing days are Tuesdays and Thursdays, the Pick-6 game is notably high at $22.6 million.

The next time the auspicious day rolls around will be in June, 2025.

About the New Jersey Lottery

Since its inception in 1970, the New Jersey Lottery has contributed more than $33.6 billion to support New Jersey State’s financial obligations. Since 2012, the Lottery has been certified by the World Lottery Association as an industry leader in Responsible Gaming best practices. In 2016, New Jersey Lottery received and continues to maintain the highest level of recognition awarded by the World Lottery Association – Level 4 Responsible Gaming Framework Certificate of Accreditation – a distinction certifying that it applies responsible gaming principles in day-to-day operations with an emphasis on continuous improvement.