There was a last-minute rush for Mega Millions tickets in advance of the Friday evening drawing as the jackpot rose to $640 million.
The enormous prize brings a one-time cash option of an estimated $462 million before taxes, or a winner could choose annual payments of about $24 million before taxes for 26 years.
"This is history, and we’re enjoying it," California Lottery spokeswoman Donna Cordova said Friday. "This is just a shared moment for the entire country. We’re rolling into uncharted territory here."
More tickets are expected to be sold before the 8 p.m. drawing. Lines hours long have formed at places deemed “lucky retailers” by the lottery and stores like Bluebird Liquor in Hawthorne that are known to sell winning tickets.
According to the California Lottery, the chance of winning Mega Millions is 1 in about 176 million.
Or as California statistician Mike Orkin, puts it: If you buy 50 tickets a week, you will win the jackpot every 68,000 years.
P.S. Just so you know, you winning this lottery has the same odds as you getting mauled by both a Grizzly and a Polar Bear as you are being struck by lightning. Save your cash, go buy a puppy.
