Hollister
– Your financial adviser might tell you it’s not a smart bet,
but with the Mega Millions lottery jackpot at $355 million it’s
pretty tempting to try your luck.
Hollister – Your financial adviser might tell you it’s not a smart bet, but with the Mega Millions lottery jackpot at $355 million it’s pretty tempting to try your luck.
With the multi-state jackpot bigger than it has been in more than five years, San Benito Country residents are rushing to the nearest mini-mart to buy a chance at winning.
“A lot of people are playing the game,” said Alex Kim, who works at West Side Liquor on San Juan Road. “They want to get some money and – $340 million? Your life will change.”
Kim said he himself would probably buy a few tickets before tonight’s drawing. If he won, Kim said, he would quit his job and travel.
On Monday, lottery officials announced that the $340 million jackpot would be increased to $355 million because of heavier than expected sales. That would be a record for the Mega Millions lottery and one of the biggest lottery jackpots ever in the United States.
Many local store owners say people who don’t normally buy lottery tickets are buying them this week.
Kim said he has seen sales in lottery tickets double with the large jackpot, but he said the money that people are spending on trying to win big varies. Some people come in and tentatively buy a few dollars worth, while some people, he said, have bought more than $100 worth of tickets.
James Sarasio of Hollister bought two tickets using part of his winnings from some scratch tickets he’d received as a birthday gift. Sarasio stopped at the store Monday to cash in the $16 worth of winning tickets and buy some Diet Pepsi, but decided to buy the tickets because of the large jackpot. He said he doesn’t usually spend money on the lottery.
“I used to do it all the time,” said Sarasio. “But I figure that money can better go someplace else.”
Sarasio will find out if he won big today at 8pm. The drawing will be held in Times Square in New York – one of the 12 states taking part in the Mega Millions draw. If no winning numbers are picked tonight, the jackpot will grow and break the national record of $365 million.
Despite the large jackpot, some people are hesitant to risk their hard-earned money.
Mark Sexton of Hollister came into Larry’s Liquors and Microbrews to cash in a few scratch tickets, but was not tempted by the sign boasting a $340 million dollar pot.
“I don’t play the Mega Millions. What’s the odds?” said Sexton. “I know it’s the highest record, but you gotta go with the odds.”
The odds indeed are hardly in any Hollister resident’s favor. According to lottery officials, the probability of winning the jackpot is approximately one in 176 million. Worse odds, according to NASA’s Ames Center, then those of being killed by an Earth-impacting asteroid: 1 in 200,000 or 500,000.
Despite the odds, Don Wright of Hollister came in to Righetti Liquors to buy a ticket on Monday. He said he regularly plays the California Lottery, but hasn’t planned what he’ll do if he wins big.
“I tell them to get me a winning ticket, but I never win,” said Wright, laughing. Wright said that he only puts in $1 at a time toward the lottery. “I can’t win with one so anymore than that won’t do me any good.”
Still, despite this attitude, Wright and many others set their skepticism aside at the chance to hit the jackpot.
“You can’t win if you don’t play,” Wright said.
Alice Joy covers education for the Free Lance. You can reach her at (831)637-5566 ext. 336 or at [email protected].
