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 The prize swelled to $586 million on Monday, with another spike in
sales expected Tuesday before the 11 p.m. EST drawing, said Paula
Otto, Virginia's lottery director, who heads the multi-state Mega
Millions game.
If the winner chooses to take the lump sum cash option, instead of
payments over 30 years, the jackpot would be $316 million, according
to MegaMillions.com.
As much as 70 percent of tickets are typically bought the day of the
drawing, she said.
Ticket buying reached a fever pitch over the weekend, with 20
percent more chances sold than expected, Otto said.
The spending tsunami pushed the prize closer to the record U.S.
jackpot of $656 million, won March 2012 in a Mega Millions drawing.
The second largest lottery jackpot was $590.5 million, won May 2013
in a Powerball game.
"If it doesn't surpass the record, we'll be close. It's growing a
little faster than we thought," Otto said on Monday.
The more tickets sold, the better chance someone will match one of
the 259 million possible number combinations that could land a
jackpot. By Tuesday's drawing, players will have bought enough
tickets to cover 65 percent to 75 percent of the possible number
combinations to strike it rich, Otto said. "You don't know you have a winner unless it's 100 percent covered,
though," she said.
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If no one picks the exact combination of numbers that appear on six
randomly selected lottery balls, the prize will keep growing until
the next drawing on Friday.
"We've never had a jackpot this high the week before Christmas,"
said Otto, who kept mum on whether she is hoping for the drama that
a Christmas Eve drawing could bring.
"You like to see winners and you like to see big jackpots. I leave
it in the hands of the bouncing balls," Otto said.
(Editing by Scott Malone and Steve Orlofsky)
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