Anticipate long lines in Century for tickets
Danny Patel of Southern Pit Stop in Century said the store was busy leading up Tuesday’s Mega Millions drawing for $830 million and he expects even larger crowds this week prior to Friday night’s drawing that is estimated to be $1.025 billion.
“You could tell,” Patel said of the crowds. “Everybody was wanting a Mega Millions ticket. Crowds will get bigger before Friday night’s drawing.”
The Mega Millions drawing Friday will be held at 10 p.m. central time, but the sale of tickets will cut off at 9:45. Southern Pit Stop is open from 6 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. but Patel encourages people to buy tickets early.
Mega Millions is played in 45 states plus the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Tickets are $2 each but players can add the Megaplier for another dollar that multiplies non-jackpot winnings by 2 to 5 times the amount.
To play, pick five numbers from 1 to 70 and one Mega Ball from 1 to 25. Players have the option to mark ‘quick pick’ and the computer will select the numbers.
Tuesday night nobody matched the five numbers, 7, 29, 60, 63, 66 and the 15 Mega Ball, which prompted the rollover to the $1 billion-plus drawing this Friday.
Lottery officials did report five people each won $1 million Tuesday by matching the top 5 numbers. One person won $3 million by matching the top 5 numbers plus the 3 times Megaplier.
Nobody has won the Mega Millions game since April 15 when someone in Tennessee won $20 million.
Lottery officials said if someone wins the $1.025 billion prize Friday they will have an option to take a lump sum cash prize of $602 million.
