Lottery: Mega Millions jackpot at $521M for tonight’s drawing
Mega Millions has only topped $500 million four times. Credit: AFP / Getty Images / Stan Honda
Jerry Torio stopped by a stationery store to buy Easter cards for his children, but couldn’t resist buying a lottery ticket, too, when he saw the Mega Millions jackpot on the wall.
“I just happened to be in here and look at the numbers,” Torio, 47, of Lindenhurst, said Friday afternoon inside the Maulik and Chandni store. “I don’t do it all that often because I never win.”
But Torio said he’d be happy to take home the latest Mega Millions jackpot, valued at $521 million Friday evening.
The numbers drawn Friday night were 11, 28, 31, 46 and 59 and the Mega Ball was 1.
The top prize for Friday’s night’s drawing was a $19 million increase over the amount predicted earlier in the day — and one of the largest pools ever for the nationwide lottery.
Officials said this is just the fourth time in the lottery’s history that the Mega prize will top $500 million.
Earlier Friday the pool was projected at $502 million. The last drawing, on March 27, was the 23rd straight drawing without a top-prize winner, the officials said.
Forty-six jurisdictions participate in Mega Millions. Officials estimate the cash value of a sole winner to be $317 million.
Many others were gearing up for Friday’s 11 p.m. drawing.
In Lindenhurst, Kelvin Estevez, 38, dreamed of what he’d do if he won. The hospital worker and volunteer firefighter said he usually buys a ticket if the jackpot is more than $20 million.
“First thing I’d do is move out of New York,” he said. “Then I would retire.”
In Melville, Tom and Xiomara Martinez, both 71, said they are already retired, but the chance to add more to their savings and help their grandchildren was enough reason to buy tickets.
Twice a week, Tom said, he stops by The Write Stuff in Melville to pick up $10 worth of Mega Millions tickets.
“We’re regular losers,” he said, laughing.
Still, there’s always a chance, Xiomara said, and that’s what keeps them coming back.
“You gotta play to win, so you take the shot,” she said. “It’ll make us happily retired.”
— With John Valenti
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