Anticipation is mounting among the Pittsburgh region’s dreamers after the Mega Millions jackpot continues to go unclaimed and grows to $830 million, the third-largest in the game’s history, while awaiting Tuesday’s 11 p.m. drawing.
Robert Maury, of Point Breeze, bought a ticket from the lottery machine in Shadyside’s Giant Eagle Market District on Monday afternoon, something he said he doesn’t do often.
He said he only plays when the jackpot gets over $400 million, so Monday’s purchase was something “like a treat.” Laughing at the thought of becoming rich from the jackpot, Mr. Maury said it’d be more likely he was “struck by lightning 100 times.”
Yet, were he to win, Mr. Maury said he’d start a foundation and give the prize money to people who need it a lot more than he does.
Sarah Jacobs, of Pittsburgh, said her family has discussed traveling and giving money to charity if they won the millions. She said her mother plays every week and has recently asked family members to add a couple of bucks to a lottery pool because the prize has grown so large.
According to Mega Millions, the Friday drawing produced 3,428,412 winning tickets, including four with second-tier prizes ranging from $1 million to $3 million in Delaware, New Jersey, New York and Virginia. Another 105 winners grabbed a third-tier prize of $10,000 or more.
Brain Anderson, of Hazelwood, was purchasing tickets for his mom at the Sunoco in Oakland on Monday. He said she often plays the lottery but he personally doesn’t, as he thinks it’s a scam.
“I would take that $20 and invest it and become rich that way,” he said.
Behind the gas station counter, Hershey West, of Homewood, had the computer automate random numbers for the ticket going to Mr. Anderson’s mother. Ms. West said this “quick pick” option for the $2 tickets is more popular than selecting each number individually, especially among recent customers.
The store has “absolutely” seen an increase in lottery sales recently, Ms. West said.
“Customers are so excited, too,” she said. “In the last two weeks or so I’ve seen all kinds of new customers, people who don’t usually play, but they feel lucky.”
Ethan Apple, of Shadyside, agreed. “Everyone wants to play right now,” he said. Mr. Apple works at the GetGo on Baum Boulevard and said lines have been forming at the convenience store’s ticket machine.
In East Liberty, Shell gas station workers Adrian Fuller, of Scott, and Brittney Lowmaster, of East Liberty, both said the store has been busy selling tickets.
“I’ve never seen it get this high before,” Mr. Fuller said of the jackpot.
The days of the drawings, Tuesdays and Fridays, are the busiest, according to Ms. Lowmaster. “It’s nonstop all day long,” she said.
Outside the Sunoco station, Tameka G., of Munhall, said she just bought a ticket even though she typically doesn’t play. She had seen a billboard advertising the prize amount.
“The jackpot is so big,” she said. “I would put the money in trust funds for my grandkids, pay bills and donate to charity,”
The largest Mega Millions jackpot was $1.537 billion on Oct. 23, 2018, with the winning ticket being sold in South Carolina, the lottery game said in a statement. Since the start of 2022, four Mega Millions jackpots have been won in California, New York, Minnesota and, most recently, in Tennessee on April 15.
Mega Millions jackpots start at $20 million and grow based on game sales and interest rates. The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 303 million.
Hannah Wyman: hwyman@post-gazette.com and Twitter @Hannah_SWyman.
First Published: July 25, 2022, 11:28 p.m.