LOTTERY FEVER SWEEPS VALLEY
Some buy hundreds of tickets as they seek $1.6 billion jackpot.
Longtime lottery players, people handling their office pools and some lottery newcomers flocked to buy tickets at stores across the area Tuesday in advance of the record $1.6 billion Mega Millions jackpot.
But those who don’t win the largest lottery prize in world history could take a chance at another big jackpot tonight: the Powerball reached a $620 million purse for any potential winners.
Mega Millions mania briefly shut down the game’s website Monday as interest intensified.
People all over the Miami Valley were standing in line to buy their Mega Millions tickets Tuesday.
Some people tried to increase their luck and bought hundreds of tickets.
“We are seeing customers come in and spend $700 on tickets,” said Kim Smith, a store clerk at Stan’s One Stop Shop in Xenia. “I think last time it was up pretty high, I had a couple of customers come in and spend $500.”
With the jackpot topping $1 billion, people who said they have never played the lottery said it’s too much money to ignore.
It also had people considering what they’d do with the winnings.
“I’d give it to a lot of friends,” said Sonny Early of Xenia. “And I will probably end up with more friends than I thought I had.”
At Bee-Gee’s Mini Market in Kettering on Tuesday afternoon, customer John Upton bought his tickets. Holding up his great-grandson Zeke Davis, Upton said he plans to share any of his winnings.
If you do win, you can take a 29-year payout or take a lump sum of more than $900 million for Mega Millions and about $350 million for Powerball. Those are what winners would be paid over 29 years, equal to the amount the lottery operators would have to pay to fund the annuity.
Experts said that winners should immediately get a financial adviser and lawyer to make sure they understand their options.