Jackpot For Friday's Mega Millions Drawing Jumps To $640M
UPDATE As Of 9:10 p.m.: Lottery officials tell CBS2/KCAL9 that no one in California won the $640M jackpot but 29 in the state matched 5 numbers, according to preliminary information. Tonight's numbers are 2-4-23-38-46, Mega Ball 23!
LOS ANGELES (CBS) — The Mega Millions jackpot for Friday night's drawing has officially become the largest jackpot in the history of lotteries around the world at a staggering $640 million.
The retailer who sells the winning ticket will receive a bonus of $1 million.
"Usually, people only come the last minute to buy them so this big jackpot is making people come early," liquor store owner Karen Sou said.
Lottery fever has gripped Southern California and hopeful players across the country. For Tuesday's drawing, which had a jackpot of $363 million, the California Lottery's website registered one million hits between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m., with people trying to find the winning numbers.
"We won some last week and the won some week before, so I keep rolling them. Hopefully we'll hit it," ticket buyer Perla Mouser said.
There have been 18 Mega Millions draws without a jackpot winner, leading to Friday's record-breaking prize.
The previous largest Mega Millions jackpot was $390 million for the March 6, 2007, drawing. The Jan. 4, 2011, drawing had a $380 million jackpot.
The numbers drawn Tuesday were 9, 19, 34, 44, 51 and the Mega number was 24.
There were 47 tickets sold with five numbers, but missing the Mega number, including nine in California. The ones sold in California are each worth $308,573, while the other 38 are each worth $250,000, a California Lottery official announced.
California law requires most major payoffs of lottery games in the state to be paid on a pari-mutuel basis.
One of the tickets with five numbers, but missing the Mega number was sold at Surf Liquor in Santa Monica, while a second was sold at Stopper Liquor in Placentia.
The holders of the winning ticket from Santa Monica -- a group of co-workers at an unidentified business -- claimed their prize Wednesday. The winners called themselves the "Lincoln 10."
Winners in San Diego and San Bernardino counties also claimed their $308,573 prizes Thursday. The odds of matching all five numbers and the Mega number is 1 in 175,711,536, according to the Mega Millions website. The overall chance of
winning a prize is 1 in 40.
The Mega Millions game is played in 41 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
