There’s nothing like a jackpot pushing past $1 billion to make people start feeling lucky — or at least greedy enough to admit there is a number high enough to want a shot at a 1 in 300 million chance of winning.
That’s the frenzy the national Powerball and Mega Millions lotto games generate when their jackpots roll over the $1 billion threshold.
It’s happening now at convenience stores and truck stops across Wyoming as momentum builds toward Friday’s Mega Millions drawing with an estimated jackpot of $1.15 billion.
“Oh yeah, everybody seems to want a shot at that,” said Casey Vialpando, a clerk at the Maverik store on Ridge Road in Cheyenne. “Those big jackpots seem to bring out a lot more people, for sure.”
That’s usually the case at the Flying J Travel Center in Rock Springs, said clerk Fred Smith, but so far there hasn’t been much buzz around Friday’s drawing. Maybe word of the $1.15 billion prize hasn’t gotten around yet, he said.
People in and around Lusk in Niobrara County certainly are aware, and are buying tickets at a brisk pace, said Sebastian Ochs.
Ochs works at the Sinclair station at 301 S. Main St. in Lusk, or as he puts it, “Out here in the middle of nowhere, Wyoming.”
He said there’s a noticeable excitement around large jackpots, but the $1 billion mark seems to send people to another level of hope — or possibly desperation. That’s when even people who normally don’t buy lotto tickets will shell out some dough on the miniscule chance of being the big winner.
“Definitely, I’ve noticed an increase in sales close to that high mark,” Ochs told Cowboy State Daily. “As you get closer to the drawing, there tends to be a big wave of tickets sold. Everyone wants a chance at that much money.”
Selling the winning ticket “would be amazing, just really cool,” he said. “Imagine someone winning it here just in the middle of nowhere.”
So You’re Telling Me There’s A Chance
The odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot is about 1 in 302 million, and don’t worry about all those long-lost relatives. If you win in Wyoming, you can choose to remain anonymous.
You also have 180 days to claim your prize.
The first big decision will be whether to take the lump cash payout, which is about $512 million, or get it in annual payouts over 30 years.
Most people choose the lump sum option, but don’t get your hopes up to bank a cool half billion. You’ll only get $389.1 million after Uncle Sam takes his mandatory 24% federal withholding.
And for those who say people in Wyoming are never lucky enough to win big money in the national lotto drawings, at least one person may disagree. In Tuesday's Mega Millions drawing, one person who bought a ticket in Wyoming was one of four $1 million winners, along with tickets sold in Missouri, California and Pennsylvania.
That means they matched all five of their numbers, but missed out on the Mega Ball that makes a six-number match for the big jackpot.
Greg Johnson can be reached at greg@cowboystatedaily.com.
