PC Patel, the owner of Plum Food Mart, 1140 N. Plum St., in Springfield said his business increases by 40 to 50 percent on the days they have large Mega Millions drawings.
“People are really excited about it,” Patel said.
They’re so busy they have to bring in an extra three to four employees on those days.
“It’s a big day,” Patel said.
To win, a person needs to match six numbers — five from 1 to 75 and one from 1 to 15.
In addition to the jackpot, there are eight other winning combinations for prizes, of $1, $2, $5, $50, $500, $5,000 and $1 million.
The chance of winning the jackpot is 1 in nearly 259 million. The chance of winning any prize is 1 in 21.
According to The Daily Beast, one is more likely to:
- Be killed by vending machine — odds: 1 in 112 million.
- Have identical quadruplets — odds: 1 in 15 million.
- Become president — odds: 1 in 10 million.
- Die from bee, hornet or wasp stings — odds: 1 in 6.1 million.
- Die from being left-handed — odds: 1 in 4.4 million.
The 10 most-drawn balls are 44, 41, 42, 49, 54, 63, 2, 11, 20 and 29. The most-drawn gold ball is 3. The five least-drawn balls are 1, 4, 5, 8 and 10. The least-drawn gold ball is 4.
If a person wins the big prize, they have 60 days to choose a 30-year annuity or a lump-sum payment of about $184 million.
Tickets are $1. Sales stop at 7:59 p.m.
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