MagicMtnDan
07-03-2004, 03:56 AM
A single winning ticket was sold in Friday's record $290 million Mega Millions lottery drawing.
The ticket -- 10-25-38-39-50 and the Mega Ball 12 -- was bought in Massachusetts, said Georgia lottery spokesman J.B. Landroche. Other states that participate in the lottery are Georgia, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Texas, Virginia and Washington.
The winner came after the jackpot had gotten so high that many people said they couldn't afford not to try.
High hopes
Quick-moving lines formed at convenience stores and gas stations hours before the 11-state drawing as players tried to get a piece of the nearly unimaginable prize.
"People who never play are playing now," said Karen Cooley as she waited in line to buy 10 Mega Millions tickets at a store in downtown Atlanta. "I believe I'm going to hit it. No one has won in Atlanta yet, and I think I'll be the first one."
The $290 million is the highest Mega Millions prize in the game's history, exceeding the previous high of $239 million in February.
The biggest single-ticket winner was a Powerball jackpot of $314.9 million awarded on Christmas Day 2002 to a West Virginia man. But Mega Millions' predecessor, the Big Game, had a multiway prize of $363 million in May 2000.
Despite 135 million-to-1 odds, a $1 ticket sometimes pays for itself by fueling the hopes of lottery risk-takers who dream of that kind of instant wealth, said Ed Story, who filled out a ticket form in Atlanta.
The ticket -- 10-25-38-39-50 and the Mega Ball 12 -- was bought in Massachusetts, said Georgia lottery spokesman J.B. Landroche. Other states that participate in the lottery are Georgia, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Texas, Virginia and Washington.
The winner came after the jackpot had gotten so high that many people said they couldn't afford not to try.
High hopes
Quick-moving lines formed at convenience stores and gas stations hours before the 11-state drawing as players tried to get a piece of the nearly unimaginable prize.
"People who never play are playing now," said Karen Cooley as she waited in line to buy 10 Mega Millions tickets at a store in downtown Atlanta. "I believe I'm going to hit it. No one has won in Atlanta yet, and I think I'll be the first one."
The $290 million is the highest Mega Millions prize in the game's history, exceeding the previous high of $239 million in February.
The biggest single-ticket winner was a Powerball jackpot of $314.9 million awarded on Christmas Day 2002 to a West Virginia man. But Mega Millions' predecessor, the Big Game, had a multiway prize of $363 million in May 2000.
Despite 135 million-to-1 odds, a $1 ticket sometimes pays for itself by fueling the hopes of lottery risk-takers who dream of that kind of instant wealth, said Ed Story, who filled out a ticket form in Atlanta.