Lottery fever hits as Canadians buy tickets for a record Lotto 6-49 jackpot

Lotto 649 tickets can be seen above. THE CANADIAN PRESS

Hopeful lottery players across the country kept ticket kiosks busy Saturday as the hours ticked down to what is expected to be a record Lotto 6-49 draw estimated at $55 million and if it does, it will be the single largest jackpot in Canadian lottery history.

Ontario Lottery and Gaming says the current record is $54.3 million from October 2005.  It was claimed by a group of 17 oil and gas workers in Camrose, Alta.  Each took home $3.2 million.

But just how likely is it that you’ll win if you buy a ticket?

A statistics professor at the University of Western Ontario says you have a better chance of being struck by lightning at least once in your life.

“That’s about one in a million.  And so this is one in 14 million.  I don’t think being struck by lightning would be as satisfying as winning $55 million.”  Professor Steve Kopp says.

Toronto finance worker Julie Hamilton wasn't put off by the long-shot odds of winning.

"It just catches your attention and you kind of hope you could win some money," she said, adding that ditching her condominium for a house in an upscale neighbourhood was at the top of her jackpot-spending list.

And she'd spread some of the cheer by taking up to 20 people on a trip "down to Mexico or somewhere in South America."

The winning jackpot numbers will to be announced Saturday night and OLG’s unofficial results air during CTV Kitchener News at 11:30.