Record jackpot pumps up sales

SAN DIEGO — The Mega Millions lottery may see a streak of jackpot rollovers end as it heads toward a record $1.6 billion drawing Tuesday.

As more tickets sell, chances grow that at least one buyer will pick all six winning numbers. That would stop the streak of 25 rollovers, most recently on Friday night.

Based on sales projections, 75 percent of the 302 million possible combinations will be chosen for Tuesday’s drawing, up from 59.1 percent in Friday’s, said Carole Gentry, spokeswoman for Maryland Lottery and Gaming.

“It’s possible that nobody wins again. But it’s hard to fathom,” Gentry said.

About 280 million tickets sold in Friday’s drawing, none matching the winning mix of 15, 23, 53, 65, 70 and Mega 7 to claim an estimated prize of $1 billion. Fifteen tickets matched five numbers for second-tier prizes of at least $1 million.

The $1.6 billion estimated jackpot would be the largest prize in U.S. history. The second-largest jackpot was a $1.586 billion Powerball drawing on Jan. 13, 2016.

Russ Lopez, spokesman for the California Lottery, said tickets were going “very, very quickly.”

The Mega Millions jackpot has been growing since July, when a group of 11 California office workers won $543 million.

It costs $2 to play the game. The odds of winning the jackpot are about one in 302 million but, with so many tickets being purchased, the likelihood of rollover becomes increasingly slim.

Mega Millions is played in 44 states Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.