People heading to their lucky stores ahead of Mega Millions drawing

Ana Torrea Image
Wednesday, March 27, 2024
People heading to their lucky stores ahead of Mega Millions drawing
Time is running out if you haven't bought your Mega Millions ticket.

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Time is running out if you haven't bought your Mega Millions ticket.



Before Tuesday's night drawing at 8 pm, the jackpot is sitting at $1.13 billion.



Ticket sales stop at 7:45 p.m.



But the odds of getting all five winning numbers is 1 in 302-million, which means you have a higher chance of getting struck by lightning.



The owner of Moroa Street Deli and Liquor in Northwest Fresno said they're pretty popular when it comes to people buying their lotto tickets.



The owner told Action News it's usually after 4 pm because that's when a lot of people start showing up to buy their tickets.



People were trying out their luck at the Morao Deli and Liquor Store. They were there buying their tickets looking to win it big.



"I play it twice a week," said Ted Vasquez of Fresno. "I've been playing it for 40 something years but I'm hoping that this one maybe."



Vasquez bought three tickets late Tuesday morning.



Outside of the deli, signs are posted calling it a lucky retailer.



Copies of winning tickets and scratchers hang inside the store.



The owner said they've sold a million dollar winning scratcher as well as a scratcher that was worth $10,000.



Bob Morrow calls the deli his lucky spot.



"This is supposedly one of the best ones in Fresno for lottery tickets," said Morrow. "So, we'll see."



People who want to find a luck retailer can check the California Lottery website. All they need to do is go to menu, click 'Where to Play', type in either their city, address, or zip code. Once that's in a list of participating stores that sell lotto tickets will appear. People would need to select the box that says 'Show only lucky retailer' to find a lucky selling store.



According to the California Lottery, a store qualifies as a lucky retailer if they sold at least one $100,000 or higher winning ticket, paid out an average of 400 winning tickets per week, or paid out an average of $4,000 in winning tickets per week.



Stores need to meet one or more of the following criteria during the 2023 calendar year.



"I wish somebody form here or from Fresno or somewhere around close would win instead of back east," said Vasquez.



"Not that I'm saying they shouldn't win either. But it's usually somebody east that somebody hits it. It would be great if somebody here would hit it."



On top of the mega millions jackpot, $865 is up for grabs in Powerball. If you combine the two together, it's just shy of $2 billion.



The next Powerball drawing is Wednesday.



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