What to do if you win
$2B
New York descended into Mega Millions mania on Monday, with hopefuls making a mad dash to snap up tickets ahead of Tuesday night’s record $1.6 billion jackpot drawing.
“I got the winner right here! This is the one!” exclaimed Long Island Rail Road train conductor Dana Rizzuto, 49, of East Islip, LI, as she forked over the cash for her $2 ticket in Penn Station.
As many as 50 people lined up outside the New York Lottery service center on Beaver Street in lower Manhattan Monday morning for their Mega Millions shot.
“It was pandemonium this morning. The line went out the door,” said Carlos Rivera, a security guard there. “Since it hit $970 million, it’s been chaotic here.”
With steady sales, the top prize was set to grow beyond $1.6 billion, as lottery officials predicted bettors would buy tickets up until the very last minute.
The jackpot is contingent on ticket sales, and upping the total is decided by a consortium of lottery officials from around the US.
On Monday, they kept the projected jackpot at $1.6 billion but will re-examine the numbers Tuesday to decide if it should go up.
Hopefuls still need a lotto luck to win big. A ticket carries a 1-in302.6 million chance of winning and must match all six numbers.
The winner — or winners — will choose between taking a yearly payment for the next 29 years, with each payment increasing from the previous one by 5 percent, or a $904,900,000 lump sum.