Honestly, if you're still only checking your tickets on Tuesday and Friday mornings, you’re basically living in 2024. New Jersey's flagship lotto game has changed quite a bit recently. The biggest shift? That third drawing. For decades, Pick Six was a Monday and Thursday tradition, a slow-burn game for people who found Powerball too chaotic. But now that the Saturday draw is firmly part of the routine, the pace has picked up, and so have the jackpots.
As of January 17, 2026, the pick six nj lottery results show a jackpot that has climbed to an estimated $11.1 million. The cash option is sitting right around $5.07 million. If you played the most recent drawing on Thursday, January 15, the winning numbers were 08, 12, 13, 20, 35, and 41.
But here’s the thing: check your ticket for the Double Play numbers too. Those were 08, 10, 24, 42, 43, and 44. People constantly forget they paid that extra dollar for the second drawing, and let me tell you, leaving a $250,000 Double Play prize on the table because you only glanced at the main results is a mistake you don't want to make.
The Saturday Factor and the $2 Million Reset
The NJ Lottery added the Saturday drawing back in mid-2025 (specifically July 12) to keep the game competitive with the multi-state giants. It worked. The jackpots are rolling over faster now. Since the game resets to a cool $2 million every time someone hits the big one, we’re seeing much less "down time" where the prize feels too small to bother with.
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One weird quirk of the current rules is the Jackpot Was Hit! Promotion. It’s currently active through June 2026. Basically, every time someone wins the jackpot and it resets to $2 million, the Lottery runs a seven-day window where if you buy three plays on a single ticket, you get a free $2 Quick Pick for the next draw. It’s a "thank you" for the reset, I guess. It’s the kind of thing most casual players don't even notice until they see the extra slip of paper come out of the machine.
How the XTRA Multiplier Actually Works (No, It's Not For the Jackpot)
I’ve heard so many people at the Wawa counter get this wrong. Every $2 Pick Six ticket now includes the XTRA multiplier automatically. You don't pay extra for it anymore; it's baked into the price. You'll see a number on your ticket—1X, 2X, 3X, 4X, 5X, or even 10X.
Now, listen closely: this does not multiply the jackpot. If you hit all six numbers, you get the jackpot regardless of your XTRA number. The multiplier is there to beef up the "small" prizes.
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- Match 5 numbers? Normally that’s around $1,500. With a 10X XTRA, you’re looking at $15,000.
- Match 4? That $30 prize turns into $300.
- Match 3? Your $2 "get your money back" prize becomes $20.
It makes the "almost win" feel a lot less like a slap in the face.
The Math: Odds, Realities, and "Hot" Numbers
Let’s talk strategy, or at least the illusion of it. Pick Six uses a 1-to-46 matrix. This is actually better than the old 1-to-49 format we had years ago. Your odds of hitting the jackpot are roughly 1 in 9.3 million. Compare that to the 1 in 292 million for Powerball, and suddenly Pick Six looks like a much more reasonable dream.
Some people swear by "hot" and "cold" numbers. Looking at the data from late 2025 and early 2026, numbers like 13, 20, and 35 have been popping up with annoying frequency. Conversely, the high 40s (44, 45, 46) have been a bit shy lately. Does that mean 13 is "due" to stop? Or that 46 is "due" to hit? Mathematically, no. Every drawing is a fresh start. But tell that to the guy at the bodega with a notebook full of spreadsheets.
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Recent Major Wins in the Garden State
We’ve had some serious luck in NJ lately. In January 2025, a massive $32 million ticket was sold in Jackson (Ocean County). More recently, an online player through the Jackpocket app took home $9.4 million in October. It's becoming more common to see these winners coming from digital platforms rather than just the local liquor store.
Taxes: What You Actually Take Home in 2026
New Jersey law on lottery winnings is actually a bit nuanced. For a long time, the state was pretty aggressive with its cut. As of 2026, here’s the breakdown:
- Federal: The IRS is going to take 24% off the top immediately for any prize over $5,000. If you’re in a high tax bracket, you might owe more come April.
- State: New Jersey treats lottery winnings as gross income. If you win over $10,000, the state withholds about 5% to 8% depending on the size of the win.
- The Good News: There was some legislative talk about making NJ lottery winnings completely tax-free at the state level (Bill B6540), but until that’s fully codified and reflected in your payout, expect the state to take its bite.
The Best Way to Check Your Numbers
Don't rely on a blurry photo of a TV screen. The official NJ Lottery app is the gold standard because it has a "Scan" feature. You just point your camera at the barcode on the ticket. It’ll tell you instantly if you’re a winner, including any Double Play or XTRA hits.
If you prefer the old-school way, the winning numbers are posted on the official NJ Lottery website by 11:00 PM on drawing nights (Monday, Thursday, Saturday).
Actionable Steps for Your Next Ticket
- Check the Saturday Draw: If you haven't checked your Thursday night tickets, do it now before the Saturday night (January 17) drawing happens.
- Look for "Double Play": If your ticket says "Double Play" at the top, you have two sets of numbers to compare against the results.
- Don't Throw Away "Losers" Immediately: If the jackpot was just hit last week, check if you qualify for the "Free Play" promotion on your next $6 purchase.
- Sign Your Ticket: I can't stress this enough. A lottery ticket is a "bearer instrument." If you lose it and you haven't signed the back, whoever finds it can claim your $11 million. Sign it the second you buy it.
The next drawing is Saturday night. With the jackpot at $11.1 million, it’s getting into that "life-altering" territory. Just remember to play for fun—the odds are long, but the stories of local NJ winners are very real.