OMAHA, Neb. - Lottery ticket lines across the U.S. swelled Friday as players drawn by a record $640 million Mega Millions jackpot took a chance at becoming an overnight millionaire.
In Arizona, a cafe worker reported selling $2,600 worth of tickets to one buyer. In Wisconsin, a retired soldier doubled his regular weekly ticket spending to $55.
"I feel like a fool throwing that kind of money away," said the soldier, Jesse Carter. "But it's a chance you take in life, with anything you do."
Ticket buyers were converging on stores in 42 states and Washington, D.C., where Mega Millions tickets are sold. The drawing was scheduled for late Friday night in Atlanta.
"You are about 50 times as likely to get struck by lightning as to win the lottery, based on the 90 people a year getting struck by lightning," said Mike Catalano, chairman of the mathematics department at Dakota Wesleyan University.
For David Kramer in Nebraska, buying his Mega Millions ticket Thursday wasn't about "the realistic opportunity to win."
"It's the fact that for three days, the daydreaming time about what I would do if I won is great entertainment and, frankly, a very nice release from a normal day," he said.
Lottery officials were happy to have Friday's record jackpot fueling ticket sales, but even they cautioned against spending large amounts per person.
"When people ask me, I just tell them that the odds of a lottery game make it a game of fate," said Chuck Strutt, executive director of the Multi-State Lottery Association that oversees the Mega Millions, Powerball and other lotteries. "Just buy a ticket, sit back and see if fate points a finger at you for that day."
