Mega Millions living up to its name
Corey DiGiovanni, president of Countryside Deli in Canton Township, gets a Mega Millions ticket for a customer Thursday. The Mega Millions jackpot was up to $540 million. The winning number will be drawn tonight.
Jeff Hatfield of Claysville purchases his Mega Millions ticket for tonight’s drawing from Jennifer DiGiovanni at Countryside Deli in Canton Township Thursday. The Mega Millions jackpot was up to $540 million early Thursday afternoon.
Mega Millions, indeed.
There may not be a more accurate term in America at this time, as the jackpot for the Mega Millions lottery drawing tonight will be in nine figures.
The payoff will likely exceed the current Mega Millions March 20, 2012, record of $656 million.
There were no winners in the previous drawing Tuesday evening, with an estimated jackpot of $454 million. A steady stream of starry-eyed players since then pushed the upcoming jackpot to about $508 million Thursday morning, then $540 million by early afternoon.
That stream probably will become a flood today.
A sampling of lottery vendors in Washington and Greene counties Thursday afternoon indicated the stream of local players was flowing gently. But each business had sandbags on hand, in anticipation of full-blown Mega Millions mania.
“We will have a big rush,” said Corey DiGiovanni, president of Countryside Deli in Canton Township. “The closer you get (to the drawing), the more people will come out.”
Some arrive even after the last minute. Countryside closes at 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, 6 p.m. Saturday, and Mega Millions is drawn at 11 p.m. Eastern.
“People will knock on the door when we’re closed, wanting to buy tickets.”
He said when a lottery jackpot is formidable, customers tend to pool money with co-workers, hoping to increase their chances of winning.
But that isn’t always the case. His wife, Jennifer, who handles the register, said one man spent $100 each on the Powerball and Mega Millions drawings two days in a row.
Jennifer realizes a true Mega Millions crush may arrive today, but as of midday Thursday, she said the response was middling compared with the frenzy over the $1.6 billion Powerball jackpot in January. Corey said Countryside nearly quadrupled its sales on the day of that drawing. Three people ended up sharing that pot.
Mega Millions sales, on the contrary, were brisk Thursday at Pecjak’s Sunoco on Greene Street in Waynesburg.
“Whenever (the jackpot) goes up, sales always go up,” owner Frank Pecjak said in the afternoon. “On days it goes up, we double our sales.”
Pecjak said he has noticed that when jackpots are high, people are willing to spend much more on tickets. “People who normally only play $1, will come in and play $10,” he said.
Echoing sentiments of other merchants, Pecjak said, “Tomorrow, it will be really hectic in here.”
Mega Millions play at Cappelli’s Beer & Pop was steady Thursday afternoon, according to Rita Bassett, a longtime employee. “I don’t see the craziness,” she said.
Bassett, who works daytime hours, said the number of lottery players hasn’t necessarily increased at the Washington business, but the ones who buy tickets are playing more frequently.
She said Cappelli’s does “OK” when there is a large lottery jackpot. She likewise anticipates an uptick in Mega Millions business today, but isn’t sure “the craziness” to which she referred will develop in the Jefferson Avenue store.
“I don’t think we’ll be overrun, but everyone will be out there to take a chance. Some people will use grocery money to play,” she added with a smile.
Sales were a little more subdued Thursday at Belko Food Store at High and Richhill streets in Waynesburg.
“It’s just a normal day,” cashier Shannon Nelson said. “I think all I sold were five plays on the Mega Million and two Cash4Lifes.” Nelson, who had started work at 9 that morning, said she didn’t know why sales haven’t taken off.
“Usually, Powerball and Mega Millions, those are the most popular (games) people buy,” she said. The store also does a good business in scratch-off tickets, she said.
There was no Mega Millions mania at Isaly’s in Wolfdale on Thursday afternoon, employee Robin Barr said. “It’s been sporadic,” she explained.
Barr, however, was certain the pace at the lottery counter would be much different today.
“We’ll see more (traffic). It’ll be hopping.”
Staff writer Bob Niedbala contributed to this report.