Cash4Life is an American multi-jurisdictional lottery drawing game; as of April 2021, it is offered by ten state lotteries, and is drawn nightly. Ticket sales began on June 13, 2014, in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

and

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

; the first drawing took place three days later.

Rules

Each game costs $2 per drawing. Players pick five white ball numbers from 1 through 60 in the main field, plus one number from 1 through 4 from the second field, the green "Cash Ball". Players also have the option to have the terminal randomly select the numbers in both fields. Matching all five numbers in the main field plus the Cash Ball wins, or shares ("split-prize liability"), the equivalent of $1,000-per-day-for-life, or $7,000,000 cash, at the winner's option. Second prize, however, can have multiple winners of $1,000-per-week-for-life and/or $1,000,000 cash. New Jersey Lottery regulations require that players choose either the annuity or cash option when playing. First- and second-prize winners who chose the "annuity" option can change to the cash option after winning; however, the "cash" option is binding and cannot be changed.

New Jersey's ''Doubler NJ'' option

On May 15, 2017, New Jersey added an option, called ''Doubler NJ''; it can be added to a Cash4Life ticket for an additional $1 per play. Any non-"for Life" prize is doubled. New Jersey remains the only Cash4Life state with such an option.

Odds and prizes

The overall odds of winning are approximately 1:7.76. The prize pool is 55 percent of sales. † The top two annuitized prizes, third prize, and the $1,000 ''Doubler NJ'' prize each have a liability limit. If there are an excessive number of winners of a "lifetime" prize tier, such prizes will automatically be paid in cash to each winner. Cash option values (which can change periodically), as of April 2021, are $7,000,000 for the top prize, and $1,000,000 for second prize. ‡ The top prize is "split-prize liability"; in essence, a ''non-progressive'' jackpot. Winners of either "lifetime" prize tier can receive cash in lieu of the lifetime annuity. Rules also vary by Cash4Life member: a ticket bought in Florida whose winner prefers the cash option must claim within 60 days of the drawing. New Jersey requires the cash/annuity choice be made when purchasing a ticket; a "cash option" choice is

legally binding A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tr ...

, but an "annuity option" ticket can be changed to the "cash option" when claiming.

Drawings

The nightly Cash4Life drawings are held live from Studio B (a.k.a. the Cash4Life Studio) at New Jersey Lottery Headquarters at Lawrence Park Complex in

Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. It was the capital of the United States from November 1 to December 24, 1784.Eastern Time The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico, Panama, Colombia, mainland Ecuador, Peru, and a small ...

on Livestream. Each drawing is supervised by an auditor from Hamilton, New Jersey-based Mercadien P.C., a CPA and Asset Management firm. The drawings were originally hosted by Erica Young, through May 10, 2018. Lauren Berman replaced Young in 2018. The current hostess is Jacqueline Knox, who previously served as a co-hostess since 2014. If she is unavailable, off-camera announcers are used. The practice of using off-camera announcers have been used particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Two drawing machines are used during each Cash4Life drawing. The larger machine (Magnum II) is used for randomly mixing the 60 white balls by using counter-rotating arms.https://1drv.ms/u/s!AptgyLLNTnZ9gstEpZMqXlRmN7fvIg The smaller machine (Messenger Single Digit) mixes the four green Cash Balls by using a clockwise rotating arm. Individually, the five white balls (several seconds apart) followed by the green Cash Ball are drawn; each ball drops through a hole at the bottom of the appropriate mixing drum. The drawing machines are manufactured by Smartplay International of Edgewater Park, New Jersey. Cash4Life was initially drawn on Monday and Thursday evenings. Beginning July 1, 2019, Cash4Life is drawn nightly.

Participating lotteries

† Original member Cash4Life tickets

1998–2000 MUSL game

''Cash4Life'' was also the name of a significantly different game offered from March 30, 1998, to September 7, 2000, by the

Multi-State Lottery Association The Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) is an American non-profit, government-benefit association owned and operated by agreement of its 34 member lotteries. MUSL was created to facilitate the operation of multi-jurisdictional lottery games, ...

(MUSL). The top prize, $1,000-per-week-for-life (no cash option), was won if the player's primary set of two-digit numbers (00 through 99) matched those drawn. It was offered in Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, South Dakota, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.

References

External links

* {{U.S. lotteries Lottery games in the United States