BLACKSBURG, Va. – Lottery fever swept through the Commonwealth on Tuesday before the Mega Millions jackpot of a whopping $830 million was chosen.
“It’s been a while since we’ve seen excitement like this across Virginia,” John Hagerty, Virginia Lottery spokesperson said. “And of course, now that that jackpot has gone up to $830 million, that’s translating into very strong Mega Million sales.”
Ticket sales soar when the lottery prize does, and proceeds from the ticket sales go to Virginia schools.
“That’s why the Virginia Lottery exists, is to help generate funds for K-12 education,” Hagerty said.
With excitement in the air, smaller stores like the Gobble Stop in Blacksburg are seeing their fair share of ticket sales – Both regular players and new faces have been popping in for their shot at the money.
“When the jackpot gets really high and exciting like this, we do see a lot of players who might not normally play,” Hagerty said. “They see this exciting jackpot number and say, ‘it’s time to get in the game.”
The Mega Millions drawing was at 11 p.m. on Tuesday, and the winning numbers were as follows, according to our sister station KPRC: 7-29-60-63-66, Mega Ball 15.
The Virginia Lottery said that if there’s no winner during Tuesday night’s drawing, there’s a good chance that the jackpot will rise to a billion dollars.