With inflation, gas and grocery prices continuing to rise, some people are turning to the lottery to try and get some extra money. My (free) advice is, "Don't spend more on the lottery than you are willing to lose." The same can be said about the casinos too.

Get our free mobile app

So if you've decided to try your luck with New York State's Mega Millions, you'll want to know that there has been a major change to it. In the past, you had until 10:45 p.m. to get your ticket and a chance to win millions (and sometimes a billion) dollars in life-changing money.

New Deadline For Mega Millions

From now on, you have only until 10 p.m. to buy your Mega Millions ticket in New York. The drawings will still be held on Tuesdays and Fridays at 11 p.m. They made the change to let the New York Lottery conduct their closing procedures for the Mega Millions draw.

That makes sense to me because this will give them an extra 45 minutes to make sure that everything is in order when it's time for the drawing. The last thing that I would want is to win the Mega Millions but not be able to collect because of some operational error.

If you really want to make sure that doesn't happen to you, my suggestion is that you get your Mega Million ticket earlier in the week or day. The concept of Mega Millions remains the same, to win the jackpot, you have to match all six numbers, you can see all the ways that you can win here.

Once again, the deadline to buy your ticket for Mega Millions on Tuesday and Friday is at 10 p.m. Good luck and if you would like to improve your chances of winning, check out the best numbers to play to win with the New York State lottery.

Check Out the Frivolous Things People Say They’d Spend Money on if They Won the Lottery

We asked people what frivolous thing they'd spend money on if they won the lottery (after all bills and such are paid, obviously) and their answers didn't disappoint!

Now that you've won, what do you do next? 

How To Protect Yourself And Your Money If You Win The Lottery

Whether you've recently won the lottery (or are planning to!), there are some things you should do right away to protect not only yourself but also your money. 

More From 98.1 The Hawk