Mega Millions jackpot @ $640M and won

[solanis]

The world's biggest jackpot is getting even bigger.

With much of the nation gripped by Mega Millions fever, hopefuls snapped up $100 million worth of tickets ahead of tonight's Mega Millions drawing, pushing the jackpot to $640 million from $540 million on Thursday.

The 11 p.m. ET drawing could provide a lucky ticket holder with a lump-sum, pretax payoff of $462 million. After taxes, the payout is a still-whopping $324 million.

From Vermont to Louisiana and New York to California, the jackpot has been the wistful talk of TV, social media sites, office water coolers and dreamy high rollers for the past week, electrifying ticket sales with a frenzy likely to amp up even further this afternoon and into the evening.

Officials estimated ticket-buyers will have spent almost $1.5 billion on lottery tickets by the time tonight's numbers are drawn in Atlanta.

"We're holding our heads in disbelief,'' says Virginia lottery director Paula Otto, who may deploy some sales officials to assist retailers with today's ticket buying onslaught.

The pot has grown nearly $300 million since Tuesday's Mega Millions drawing failed to draw a top prize winner for the 18th consecutive time since late January.

"It's uncharted territory," says Buddy Roogow, director of the Washington D.C., lottery, which issued a commemorative "I Played The World's Largest Jackpot" ticket this week. A typical Mega Millions drawing sells 250,000 tickets in the nation's capital. "Friday, the real frenzy sets in," says Roogow, who expects ticket sales of 1 million.

Social media users were buzzing about the jackpot on Facebook and Twitter, mostly about what they would do with the money, but also about the tiny possibility of winning the top prize.

The odds? About 1 in 176 million.

"I'm reading an article about what to do after you hit the mega millions jackpot. Next article, how to housebreak your unicorn," says @scottbhuff on Twitter. Some posters link to a someecards.com poster that shows a man consoling a woman, and include this phrase: "Plenty of people don't win the lottery the first few thousand times they play."

Many in Indiana were further encouraged by the promise of freebies: Hoosier Lottery officials gave away one free Mega Millions ticket to each of the first 540 players at several outlets around the state Friday - a plan announced before the jackpot grew.

Thursday, the line to buy tickets at Bluebird Liquor in Hawthorne, Calif., stretched a half block down Hawthorne Boulevard and around a side street for another half block. Some, such as Zulodius Morgan, waited in line for three hours to purchase tickets at the store, which has a reputation for being lucky for lottery players. Morgan, who has won close to $400 from past tickets, was in line at 8:30 a.m.

Hawthorne resident Vianca Zaragoza bought tickets Wednesday with family members and was back purchasing 65 for a 10-person office pool at a local clothing company. She had already been waiting two hours. "It's a hot store, I guess," said Zaragoza, 24.

"Business is great," says Bluebird owner James Kim, working furiously behind the counter with four employees.

Many in Indiana were further encouraged by the promise of freebies: Hoosier Lottery officials gave away one free Mega Millions ticket to each of the first 540 players at several outlets around the state Friday - a plan announced before the jackpot mushroomed by $100 million.

Near Midtown Manhattan, Crater Newsstand had sold about 1,600 lottery tickets by midday. Mohammed Manna, who manned the store register, expected even more business in the days ahead. Before Tuesday's drawing, the store sold more than 4,000 tickets.

Manhattan lottery ticket buyers tapped into various rituals and quirky procedures in hopes of building their luck. Some of the folks buying tickets at the newsstands down 1st Avenue in New York City used numbers that were printed on Chinese food fortune cookies. Others used birth dates, while some went to different retailers on the same block.

Idaho, one of 42 states to offer Mega Millions tickets, typically sells 200,000 to 250,000 tickets. "We're at 800,000 right now and expect to sell over 1 million by Friday night," says state lottery director Jeff Anderson.

Lorraine Malkmus, manager of the Maverick Country store in Meridian, ID., is adding additional clerks until to handle demand.

"We've been jammed since Tuesday," Malkmus says. "We're selling over 2,000 tickets a day — 400 to 500 is normal. People who've never played before are coming in for tickets. People are picking up $50 worth of tickets for office pools. The Frito-Lay delivery guy bought $50 worth."

Customers at Merola's Market in Burlington, Vt., were lined up at the lottery counter eight to nine deep for much of Thursday. "It's been very, very busy," clerk Eric Foy says. "They all want their shot."

In Southern California's Coachella Valley, consumers are spending up to 10 times more than usual on Mega Millions tickets, says David Woosley, field consultant for several 7-Eleven stores.

"It's been outrageous," Woosley says. "Every customer coming in is buying at least eight tickets. I'm seeing people buying $50 to $100 worth rather than the $2 to $3 they usually spend."

In Minnesota, some outlets pre-printed Mega Millions tickets to speed sales. Jason Schutz of St. Cloud bought 11 tickets at a SpeedStop. "My 401(k) is worth so little. My only chance to retire is Mega Millions," he says.

David Walsh, a clerk at the Montford Convenience store in Asheville, N.C., says business is better than normal. He expects a Friday onslaught. "It's pay day," he says.

In downtown Wilmington, Del., Sam Patel, owner of the Convenient Store, says sales have been brisk, but today is "going to be a madhouse."

Customer George Daniels bought 10 tickets Wednesday and 10 more Thursday. If he wins, he plans to give much of it away to family and charities. "Then I'd just take life easy," Daniels says. "Everybody wants to see if they can make their dreams come true."

Greg del Rio, a supervisor at Hotel du Pont, bought 38 tickets for a workers' pool. If they win? "We'll have no more employees," he says. "Nothing will get clean."

At Mike's convenience store in West Ocean City, Md., Lorrie Flather, snapped up six tickets. Flather, 74, won $600 and $1,300 in previous lotteries.

"They say the third time is the charm, so I'm bound to win, you know," she says.

Like other proprietors, store owner Mike Dent is bracing for long lines Friday night. He's already sold some customers $100 to $500 worth of tickets.

If Dent wins? " I'm not coming back," he says.

Ray Springer, an unemployed Navy veteran, purchased a Mega Millions ticket and state game tickets at a southwest Atlanta Shell Food Mart.

"I normally don't play Mega Millions because those jackpots are normally not won in Georgia," he says. If he wins Friday's drawing? "I'd probably pass out," says Springer, 48.

Many ticket buyers let computers pick numbers. Others, such as retiree William Dillard, have their own system. "I play my kids' birthdays, mine, my brother's plus my mother's and father's," he says.

Hopefuls have been streaming into the Esplanade Mini Mart just outside New Orleans' French Quarter since Wednesday.

"Sales are booming," store manager David Gonzalez says. "It definitely brings people in. Everybody loves the lottery."

New Orleans resident Lisa Freeman had never bought a Mega Millions ticket before. At 7:30 a.m. Thursday, she received a text message from her twin sister in Jackson, Miss., with a list of numbers they should play. Lisa bought 12 tickets.

"It's something people here can really look forward to," Freeman says.

The Brother's Food Mart in the Lower 9th Ward also had a steady stream of Mega Millions customers — many first-time buyers, manager Ali Sylla says. When a local TV crew filmed a segment in their store Wednesday, even more came in, he says.

One of his customers was Patrice Gordon, a first-time Mega Millions buyer, who bought three tickets each for herself and her friend, Dionne Knight.

"I just bought the winning ticket and gave it to her," Gordon, 43, says, jutting her thumb at Knight. "But it's all good. She'll take care of me."

Knight, 43, says the Mega Millions jackpot has been the topic of non-stop talk at the bar she owns, The New Place. Just the prospect of the mammoth payout has been good for the city, she says, which in recent years has weathered devastating floods, oil spills and, more recently, a series of sanctions on their beloved NFL team, the New Orleans Saints.

"It's well-needed here," Knight says. "It'll be great for the city if someone here won."

Insurer Progressive is parlaying Mega Millions fever into a marketing event, says Chief Marketing Officer Jeff Charney. Progressive's TV ad icon, "The Messenger" (actor John Jenkinson) will be giving away nearly 2,000 lottery tickets on Decatur and Canal streets beginning at 9:30 a.m.

Schrader's Country Store owner and manager Kyle Schrader, 28, says ticket sales at his Fort Collins, Colo., store were strong Wednesday and getting better on Thursday. "We've been crazy busy," says owner Kyle Schrader. "Half a billion dollars? It's bringing people out of the woodwork."

"I dream of never waking up to an alarm clock again," says Jared Hersh, a packaging coordinator for New Belgium Brewing Co. Hersh, 37, bought $8 worth of tickets. "I totally dig my job, but when's that drawing? You may never see me again."

Typically, a store earns five to six cents from each ticket sold, plus a commission for selling a winning ticket. Demand for Mega Millions tickets has also boosted overall retail sales at many convenience stores.

"It's an amazing opportunity to introduce yourself to new customers," says Jeff Lenard, spokesman for the National Association of Convenience Stores. "For a lot of stores, this is their debutante ball."

source

I always buy 5 when the jackpot goes over 200, my tip of the hat to irrationality.

[Callisto]

In a pool at work for a dollar and whatever, I hope we win, not so I get the money but more so everyone here quits on the same day and sinks the piece of shit company I work for.

[Dimmauk]

Buying $5 after work.

[Seraph]

I would love to know what the winning odds breakdown becomes the higher the jackpot gets. Does anyone know if the average ROI on a single ticket actually gets worse when the jackpot goes up? I'm not sure how they calculate the jackpot increases, probably some percentage of the previous rounds revenue, but I would laugh my ass off if that was the case.

[solanis]

the expected return from a ticket is so low that as the jackpot goes up, the measurable impact approaches zero. that hasn't stopped me from buying 5 tickets today, though!

[Callisto]

I think the pot is actively growing as people buy more tickets, it went from 400something to the current 600something without there being a drawing in between I believe.

[solanis]

apparently over 1 million tickets are expected to be sold today alone. the radio was saying that 2 tickets for every person in the country have been sold so far, and over a billion spent on those tickets. incredible, tbh

[Izzy]

Idiot tax or not, I still bought a ticket.

Also, a fuckload of the lottery revenue goes to education. So, it's not like everyone's money is going to nothing.

[Callisto]

The amazing part is how little of that is going to actually go to anything productive. I know the amount of lottery revenue actually tabbed for education like it's supposed to be in IL is very little.

[Izzy]

The amazing part is how little of that is going to actually go to anything productive. I know the amount of lottery revenue actually tabbed for education like it's supposed to be in IL is very little.

JINX

I wonder what the percentages really are for each state.

[Izzy]

Looks like all of it in NY State goes to education.

[Cream Soda]

Lol if I won that, I could never work again and spend 4.9m a year and not run out until I'm 94 (after taxes)

[Effluo]

In a pool at work. We each bought a few tickets from our area of town. Also would love to win so we can all quit at the same time.

[Tweek]

Idiot tax or not, I still bought a ticket.

yep.

we pooled $10 ea at our remote office so we got 126 chances on this drawing (the money we won earlier in the week just went into more buying more tickets) We only really do it @ work when the shit gets hella big (twice this week) don't think we've done it in nearly 2 years though


good luck everyone

[Jefe]

I guess LA gets shit because the LAUSD is god awful. No money for books, the buildings look like something out of a post apocalyptic future (holes on the walls, water stains on ceilings, fungi growing, paint chipping off).

The chances of winning are roughly 1/170,000,000~

Yeah, not gonna buy tickets.

[Callisto]

That's actually better odds than I thought.

[Xno Kappa]

In a pool with my classmates of about 27. We all put in $10. If I win, I'm straight up bitch-slapping generals with benjamins.

[Necronus]

It's past the break point for voluntary tax/idiot tax though, though the exact break point does vary by state. Of course, what I mean by that is the point where the ticket no longer has a negative expected return value. Its actually at a lower point, but at somepoint near approximately 500-525 Million, and taking into account the lump sum payout minus taxes, the odds of winning are equal to the amount of dollars that will be all yours. If you were to buy all 175 Million+ combinations right now and were somehow the only winner (which is extremely doubtful with how many tickets got bought on this round) then you'd profit, albeit not a whole lot in relation to the initial investment.

Edit: Added the critical word ... "expected value", for any stats people who jump on me.

[Callisto]

Looks like all of it in NY State goes to education.

[Jefe]

In a pool with my classmates of about 27. We all put in $10. If I win, I'm straight up bitch-slapping generals with benjamins.

Nah nigga, you're inviting bg's FGC to Evo mofo.