USA: Lottery buyers line up at stores in Washington D.C. as the Mega Millions jackpot grows to a whopping $500 million crushing the previous record of $390 million

Record ID: 572974

  • Title: USA: Lottery buyers line up at stores in Washington D.C. as the Mega Millions jackpot grows to a whopping $500 million crushing the previous record of $390 million
  • Date: 29th March 2012
  • Summary: WASHINGTON D.C., UNITED STATES (MARCH 28, 2012) (REUTERS) LOTTERY BUYER HOLDING UP TICKET MAN BUYING TICKET BANNER READING 'WINNING LOTTERY TICKET' (SOUNDBITE) (English) TYRONE JOHNSON, LOTTERY TICKET BUYER, SAYING : "Hey, everybody got to take a shot at it. My chance is as good anybody else's. I hit it, it's all over with. (REPORTER ASKING : What are you going to do with it?) I am going to be calm, get a financial consultant, take care of my best friend, take care of my family, that's it, give it a little bit to church." WOMAN BUYING TICKET SALES ASSISTANTS AT COUNTER (SOUNDBITE) (English) LISA SLESINGER, LOTTERY TICKET BUYER, SAYING : "For as long as I can remember, she would come here to buy lottery tickets and when I came to visit, she would bring me with her, so it's a really happy memory to come here and think about her." (REPORTER ASKING: What if you win?) If I win, you know what, just being here, honest to goodness, is a wonderful thing, but if I win, my daughter told me she wants a car for college and I said that would be the only way she would get a car for college and it would be my old car. And then the rest of that is trying to do good things for other people." (SOUNDBITE) (English) LYDIA NAVA, LOTTERY TICKET BUYER, SAYING : "Seriously I don't know. I have to relax first, and then relax, think about it and then I'll know what to do about it." CLOSE OF TICKETS IN WOMAN'S HAND MAN CHOOSING NUMBERS BEFORE BUYING TICKET BUDDY ROOGOW, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, DC LOTTERY, ASKING CUSTOMERS IF THEY ARE BUYING MEGA MILLIONS TICKETS MAN BUYING TICKET (SOUNDBITE) (English) BUDDY ROOGOW, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, DC LOTTERY, SAYING : "Sales have been great. Just last night when the Mega Millions jackpot hit a measly $363 million DC Lottery sold more Mega Million tickets than we ever had and that's probably going to double or triple Friday night." MAN BUYING TICKET (SOUNDBITE) (English) KURT BROOKS, LOTTERY BUYER SAYING : "Well, there's a lot of people I owe money to, they get paid first, and then uh, what would anybody do, there's a lot of friends I want to take care of, family, quit, you know, all of that." (REPORTER SAYING: Quit?What will your boss when you win?) "It's been nice knowing you." WALL COVERED WITH LOTTERY TICKETS WIDE OF CUSTOMERS AT COUNTER
  • Embargoed: 13th April 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa, Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Quirky,Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVA5GDYHVH7G1D3VD5HC7GAK7XGE
  • Story Text: Lottery fever spread across the United States on Wednesday (March 28) with people in more than 40 states buying tickets for the Mega Millions jackpot that has reached an all-time record of $500 million, officials said.
    In Washington D.C., some lottery ticket buyers said they were feeling lucky as they lined up at a local store, hoping to striking it rich.
    "Hey, everybody got to take a shot at it. My chance is as good anybody else's. I hit it, it's all over with," said ticket buyer Tyrone Johnson.
    Memories trumped mega millions for customer Lisa Slesinger who traveled from Pennsylvania to buy a ticket in Washington D.C. from the same store her grandmother frequented. Still, Slesinger said she had plans for all that money if won the jackpot this Friday.
    "If I win, you know what, just being here, honest to goodness, is a wonderful thing, but if I win, my daughter told me she wants a car for college and I said that would be the only way she would get a car for college and it would be my old car. And then the rest of that is trying to do good things for other people."
    Ticket buyer Lydia Nava said she had not even thought about what she could do with her winnings.
    "I have to relax first, and then relax, think about it and then I'll know what to do about it."
    Kurt Brooks, another customer at the store, had firmer plans, saying he would quit work, if he ever won
    "It's been nice knowing you," Brooks said, when asked what he would say to his boss before leaving his job.
    The enormous cash prize, which officials said could be the biggest in the world, was reached after nobody matched all six numbers in Tuesday's regular draw. Buddy Roogow, executive director of DC lottery said the jackpot could rise higher as more people buy tickets for Friday's drawing.
    "Sales have been great. Just last night when the Mega Millions jackpot hit a measly $363 million DC Lottery sold more Mega Million tickets than we ever had and that's probably going to double or triple Friday night," Roogow said.
    Mega Millions is one of the largest multi-state lottery games in North America and is played in 42 states, plus Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
    Players pay $1 for a ticket and must pick five numbers from 1 to 56 plus a Mega number from 1 to 46 to win the jackpot. The odds of winning are 1 in about 176 million, according to the official Mega Millions website.
    The largest Mega Millions jackpot ever won was $390 million in March 2007, when the prize was split between two tickets sold in Georgia and New Jersey.
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