BALTIMORE — Who wants to be a billionaire?
Mega Millions, the national lottery known for its high-stakes jackpots, reached $1.15 billion for its next drawing Friday — possibly the fifth-largest prize in the game’s history.
Mount Washington resident Paul Chrismer said he is lucky and wants to end the year a rich man.
“As I was driving back from my in-laws in New Jersey and heading to my sister’s house in Maryland for Christmas dinner, I heard on the radio that the jackpot for next Friday’s drawing would be $1.1 billion,” Chrismer said . “So when I stopped for gas, I bought four Mega Millions tickets, one for my sister, nephew, niece and parents as last-minute stocking stuffers.
“Before handing them out, I reminded them that for each winning ticket I would receive a 50% finder’s fee,” he said.
The price of the ticket is still a relative bargain for the time being.
Mega Millions, which is sold in 45 states, Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands, will increase the price of its tickets from $2 to $5 in April. It’s the second “price adjustment” since it began offering more than two decades ago. selling tickets, and the first since 2017.
Carney resident Eric Blunt joked about the odds of winning the top prize, which are estimated at one in 302,575,350.
“Don’t tell anyone,” he said of the $1.15 billion jackpot. “I don’t want my chances to get worse.”
Total Maryland Lottery ticket sales since September 10 are approximately $750 million, with Mega Millions accounting for approximately 4.7% of total sales since the last jackpot was won on September 10.
Seth Elkin, a spokesman for the Maryland Lottery, said this $1.15 billion jackpot is “a win for Maryland Lottery players and retailers, as well as for the state.” $35.1 million worth of Mega Millions tickets have been sold in Maryland since September 10, when the last jackpot was $810 million in Texas.
$5.5 million in prizes have been won by Maryland Lottery players on Mega Millions tickets sold since September 10, including two tickets worth $1 million each.
One of the $1 million tickets was sold in Brooklyn Park in October and the prize was claimed by an Anne Arundel County resident. The other $1 million ticket still remained unclaimed as of Thursday morning. It went on sale at a Wawa store in Bel Air on December 10 and the winner has 182 days from the drawing date to file a claim.
“We tend to see an uptick in sales after a jackpot has been rolling for a while, because it’s not just regular lottery players who are interested in high jackpots, but everyone,” Elkin said. “Almost everyone has daydreamed about what they would do if they won a big jackpot. We also see groups of colleagues, friends or family members coming together to buy tickets when there is a big jackpot, which increases participation and makes it a fun shared experience.
“We encourage everyone to keep it fun and play responsibly, within their budget and resources,” Elkin said.
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Baltimore Sun reporter Jean Marbella contributed to this article.
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