Strong sales of Mega Millions lottery tickets are reported across the country for Tuesday night's estimated $363 million jackpot, the third largest in the game's history.
"Peak sales hours for Mega Millions are typically on the day of the drawing during the evening rush hour. We anticipate brisk sales as people head home from work," said Tandi Reddick, media relations manager for the Georgia Lottery Corp.
The drawing is at 11 p.m. ET Tuesday.
A winning ticket must match all five numbers drawn from a pot containing 56 balls and then match the Mega Ball, which is drawn from a pot containing 46 numbers. Odds of winning are almost 176 million to 1. Each ticket costs $1.
The $363 million prize is payable as an annuity over 26 years. The cash option payout for Tuesday's jackpot is $259 million. Both are before taxes.
Arizona lottery officials say that Tuesday night's cash option payout is the largest in history, a fact they attribute to the country's current low interest rates.
Either amount would be larger than what America's best paid corporate executives make in a year. For 2010, that was $84.5 million, according to a CNNMoney report. It would also put a winner ahead of the annual haul of Hollywood's biggest earners, such as director/actor/writer Tyler Perry ($130 million in 2010) and producer Jerry Bruckheimer ($113 million in 2010), according to Forbes.com.
The game's biggest jackpot was $390 million in the March 6, 2007, drawing. That jackpot was split by winners in Georgia and New Jersey.
On January 4, 2011, a $380 million jackpot was also split by two winners, one in Idaho and one in Washington.
Four winning tickets split a $336 million jackpot on August 28, 2007.
If the jackpot goes to a single winning ticket, it would be the largest in the game's history. A little more than a year ago, seven state workers in New York bought a ticket that earned them a $319 million jackpot.
The biggest single-ticket win in the other nationwide lottery, the Powerball, was in February 2006 when a ticket held by eight workers at a Nebraska food plant paid a $365 million jackpot.
Mega Millions is played in 42 states plus the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands.
Woman, 81, wins $336 million Powerball jackpot
ahh..no there isnt"'... 365kk is way better
if i won... i'd buy a narco-sub..
With a FULL cargo!
A million goes to NORML, just for the hell of it
With all that money I'd give it to Michele Bachman and make certain she wins in 2012!
hahahahahahahaha!!!! I would spend the money on elaborate jokes as well.
Okay all you "phychics", show us your powers and come up with the winning numbers.
Oops. I meant PSYCHICS
I requested the winning ticket this morning....hope the clerk didn't screw up again, lol
Don't worry your pretty heads off clhildren. I was assured by my gas station clerk that he sold me the winning ticket. You all can go home now. 🙂
I make it half way friday. Maybe this time I'll get all six instead of just three.
You would call your retirement plan the 401M :O
03 07 15 22 38, megaball 14
I'd take the money, leave the U.S., give up my citizenship and watch the liberals destroy the U.S. on CNN from my comfortable chalet in Switzerland.
or you could do the same thing and watch the partisan f nuts do it
Wouldn't it be great if a large group of co-workers won? Spread the wealth.
Perhaps if I win I can finally get my spastic colon issues checked out.
Just pay someone to follow you around and take the blame.
I wouldn't even know what to do with that much money. Call off sick for a couple of days maybe! Or maybe I would call off rich. Yeah I like that one better!!
i think a lost month in amsterdam would be in store
I won the $230M jackpot a couple of years ago...I may play this one again, I could use a little more coin...
I have the winning ticket