Near-record $355M Mega Millions jackpot spurs busy ticket sales in hours before Tuesday's drawing
Diag Party Shoppe employee Raul Perdomo and owner Jerome Kamano work the lottery machine on Tuesday afternoon at the store, located on South State in Ann Arbor.
Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com
The odds of winning are 1 in 176 million, according to reports.
But that's not stopping local buyers from trying to get their piece of the 41-state lottery prize.
"They're spending hundreds (on tickets)," said Maro Warra from the counter of Falsetta's Market on Washtenaw near Arborland. "Hundreds and hundreds."
Business is 5-6 times the normal lottery sales, she said. Many customers are new to the store, and she thinks that may be part of their strategy to get their lottery luck flowing.
"I think they go from one store to another" to buy tickets, Warro said.
At the Diag Party Shoppe on the edge of the University of Michigan campus, lottery business was easily three times a typical day, said Jerome Kamano.
"It's pretty crazy," he said.
The biggest customer base up to Tuesday's lunch hour was U-M staff, many of which had pooled their money with coworkers.
"One group came in today and bought $170," Kamano said. "Another group got $70, another $76."
Today's drawing is the third-highest in the history of the game.
The $355 million grand prize grew from $330 million today due to the volume of sales, Michigan lottery officials told the Detroit Free Press. While the amount will come in payments to any winner, a lucky ticket holder also can choose a single-payment option of $208.3 million, according to the Mega Millions web site.
Either way, the amounts are driving lots of dreams, say the local sellers of the tickets.
"They just want the money," Warra said. "That's everyone's dream."
Paula Gardner is Business News Director of AnnArbor.com. Contact her at 734-623-2586 or by email. Sign up for the weekly Business Review newsletter, distributed every Thursday, here.
Comments
Atticus F.
Wed, Jan 5, 2011 : 9:42 a.m.
Also, with that many people playing the odds are that you WILL have to split the jackpot. Which is exactly what happened. It's not a great investment. But if you are just spending a couple of dollars chasing a dream, I dont see any harm.
mtep
Tue, Jan 4, 2011 : 11:19 p.m.
to johnnya2 - A $203Mil return would be great with these odds. But don't forget about the 40% that'll go to Uncle Sam. Or to factor in the odds of multiple winners.
dlaute81
Tue, Jan 4, 2011 : 10:54 p.m.
Even if the odds of multiple winners is 10-50% the expected value of a $1 ticket is still not that much below one, and its fun to dream. I bought a ticket.
MIKE
Tue, Jan 4, 2011 : 10:18 p.m.
johnny, what happens when 5 other people win it with you? Not such a smart investment then!
Gill
Tue, Jan 4, 2011 : 9:18 p.m.
Let's see, if you get some help filling out the cards, and can get a machine to read one ticket entry every second, then the 175,711,536 tickets should take only 5.5 years to get processed.
johnnya2
Tue, Jan 4, 2011 : 8:46 p.m.
Those who say this is an ignorance tax or for people bad on math, should really look at the numbers again. If I purchased 175,711,536 tickets of the combinations I would get a return of $355 million (or $203million plus if I take it in one lump sum). That is actually a great investment. That purchase would also increase the jackpot by over $87 million, or take it to $442 million (or around $279 mil in one lump sum). Anybody want to lend me $175,711,536?
M.
Tue, Jan 4, 2011 : 8:19 p.m.
I didn't realize that a big jackpot would cause such a race for tickets. Hundreds of dollars on lotto?? Someone who can afford that isn't the type who I'd like to see win millions. Also, Jerome is awesome.
sun runner
Tue, Jan 4, 2011 : 8:03 p.m.
I've been watching the lottery payout numbers on the billboard along I-94 near Zeeb increase for weeks...I might pop out and buy a ticket. You never know. Somebody ALWAYS wins. Eventually. It could be me this time. It's nice to fantasize even if for only a few hours.;)
trs80
Tue, Jan 4, 2011 : 7:39 p.m.
Too funny, the herd lined up for the slaughter this time around. I like how hopes and dreams bring out the sucker in us all.
glimmertwin
Tue, Jan 4, 2011 : 6:34 p.m.
Yes - Lottery - the retirement plan for those who are bad at math.
Gorc
Tue, Jan 4, 2011 : 6:30 p.m.
All I need is a chip and a chair.
Soothslayer
Tue, Jan 4, 2011 : 6:12 p.m.
LOL people the odds are the same if the jackpot is 10M or 400M. I guess people think 10M is chump change these days. Lotteries are simply a tax on ignorance. They should just start the lottery at 100M becuase they will make it back the next purchasing round with the elevated sales.
Do not taunt Happy Fun Ball
Tue, Jan 4, 2011 : 4:40 p.m.
Each ticket is One chance in 175,711,536.
Atticus F.
Tue, Jan 4, 2011 : 4:13 p.m.
If I win, I'm giving each one of my co-workers $500,000.00...NOT!
Technojunkie
Tue, Jan 4, 2011 : 3:36 p.m.
Lotteries are a tax on people who suck at math. I'd probably buy a ticket anyhow if I knew about the jackpot and happened to pass by a ticket seller with a short line though. Psychology, ugh.
A2Westsider
Tue, Jan 4, 2011 : 3:18 p.m.
A cutoff time to purchase would be helpful.