Mega Millions' $363M jackpot lures dreamers

With a chill in the air and hope in their hearts, Long Islanders snapped up tickets to Tuesday night's drawing for the $363-million Mega Millions jackpot, the third largest in that game's history.

Steven Basile, 45, of Glen Cove, took a break from his job as a team leader for a customer service department at a Melville firm to buy a fistful of tickets at a nearby convenience store on Route 110.

"I play, but I don't play every week," he said as he left the store. "When it gets up there, I play. Anything over $100 million will do."

And if he wins? "Not work. I'm done," he said. "Travel. I'll be at JFK tomorrow morning. Go somewhere warm -- the islands."

Laura Bonanno, 41, of Dix Hills, a stay-at-home mom, said she is an occasional player, unaffected by the size of the prize.

"What am I going to do if I hit?" she said. "Pay off all my bills, make sure my son is set for life, go on a great vacation and not tell my ex-husband."

The demand for tickets overwhelmed some vendors. At one 7-Eleven store in Melville, there was a sign saying, "No lotto sale. Run out of paper. Sorry."

The winning numbers announced in Tuesday night's drawing were 9-19-34-44-51 and the Mega Ball was 24.

Christy Calicchia of the New York Lottery said Tuesday's jackpot is third among Mega Millions prizes, behind only a $390-million prize offered in March 2007 and a $380-million total from January 2011.

In the history of multistate lottery games, it is tied for the fourth highest, according to lottery records. The jackpot grew from $356 million Monday.

Powerball awarded a $365-million prize in 2006, and The Big Game, which no longer is being played, had a $363-million jackpot in 2000.

The Mega game has reached a jackpot of $300 million or higher seven times since being introduced in 2002, Calicchia said. Mega Millions is played in more than 40 states and the District of Columbia.

Nationwide Friday, 37 tickets matched five numbers -- but not the Mega Ball -- and were worth $250,000. Six of those $250,000 winners are from New York, including two from Suffolk County, the Lottery said on its website.

One winning ticket would be worth a lump-sum payment of $259.8 million, before taxes, lottery officials said. Jackpot winners have the option of one payment, the lump sum, or annual payments over 20 years.

The odds of winning the jackpot are about one in 176 million.

With Ellen Yan