Melanie Jacobson shows how two dollars is converted to a Mega Million Lottery ticket on Wednesday Aug. 3 2022.
FRANKLIN – Utahns wanting to get rich quick piled over the boarder to convenience stores, spending $2 a piece for a chance at winning the $1 billion-plus Mega Millions Dollar jackpot.
On July 29, an Illinois person drew the winning numbers for the $1.337 billion. Of that, the winnings that person will take home are $780.5 million.
In some states like Illinois, the winner may remain anonymous.
David Workman, public information specialist for the Idaho Lottery, said the days leading up to last Friday’s Mega Millions Lottery ticket sales were crazy.
“State-wide, Idaho sold $4,568,990 in lottery tickets,” he said. “In Franklin County, we sold $242,324 worth of tickets at $2 a ticket.”
Most of the parking lots of the businesses that sold lottery tickets in Franklin County were filled with cars with Utah license plates the last four days before the drawing. Some people would walk in and see the line and head to the next place that sold lottery tickets.
“That is lot of tickets coming from the four or five stores in Franklin County that sell lottery tickets,” Workman said. “The four days leading up to the lottery Idaho sold at least $1 million a day.”
Workman was in Preston Wednesday awarding nearly $500 for a teacher who requested it from the Lottery Commission.
“The last three years we have initiated a program for teachers who have needs they would take out of their pocket to buy things,” Workman said. “We had a request for money to buy replacement table legs for tables students were using at Preston Jr. High School.”
Mega Millions is not the only lottery game played in Idaho. There are 11 different lottery games to play.
Brad Duke, of Star, Idaho won $220 million on the Powerball Jackpot in 2005.
The Idaho Lottery began in 1989 and is a function of the state government. They are a member of the Multi-State Lottery Association. While 45 States and the District of Colombia, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands have legalized the lottery. Alabama, Alaska Hawaii, Utah and Nevada have kept the lottery out of their states.
They claim to have spent $1,067,888,605 on Idaho schools.
Each year the Idaho lottery has $3 million to $5 million in winnings that goes unclaimed.
Lottery winners have up to one year to claim their winnings or the money goes back to the Idaho Lottery Commission. The money is then given to Idaho Public Schools, Bond Levy Equalization Fund or used for Lottery administration.
Last year the Idaho Lottery gave $72 million back to the state and over 30 years they have given over $1.34 billion back to the Gem State in one form or another.