KETTERING — People in the Miami Valley are rushed to purchase lottery tickets as the Mega Millions Jackpot hit $1 billion this Christmas Eve.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
As reported on News Center 7 at 11:00, the chances of winning the jackpot is one in 300 million.
TRENDING STORIES:
- 23-year-old dead after shooting on Christmas Eve in Logan County
- ‘He does not quit;’ Therapy donkey recovering after dog attack in Greene County
- 3 dead, others injured in a shooting at a private Christian school in Wisconsin
Joe Battiaglia was one of the many people buying lottery tickets from Bee-Gees Market in Kettering on Tuesday.
“First thing I would do is, I take a little bit off the top for me and the misses, and then I would give all the rest of it away because it was a gift,” Battiaglia said.
Battiaglia said he stops by Bee-Gee’s Market to play the lottery at least twice a week.
“I do the 11,” he said. “I get one of each one of them, so that way, I’ve covered the whole board.”
Michael Slinger owns Bee-Gees Market. He said a lot of people have stopped by to get tickets for the Mega Millions.
“Anytime it’s holiday season, people love to come in and buy lottery tickets for friends and family. And family get-togethers, scratch-offs are always a hit, lottery tickets in general are always a hit,” Slinger said. “Especially right now, with the jackpot being at a billion dollars for Christmas Eve, that definitely brings in the crowd.”
Lottery players will notice the price to play Mega Millions will increase by April 2025.
“It’ll go right now, it’s $2 for the regular bet, $3 each, if you add the multiplier, once it switches to April, it’ll be $5 per ticket, but that will automatically include the multiplier bet so if you get a partial jackpot, that can increase it to a bigger jackpot,” Slinger said.
According to Slinger, there will be fewer numbers to choose from, so the odds of winning will be higher.
And the winning jackpot will grow much quicker.
Battiaglia said he thinks this upcoming change will be great.
The winning Mega Millions drawing is: 11, 14, 38, 45, 46, and a Mega Ball of 3.
It is not immediately clear if any winning tickets have been sold.
[SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]