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Community Corner

UPDATE: Mega Jackpot now $640 Million

Ticket sales are "through the roof" according to ticket sellers, as a $640 million dollar jackpot looms for tonight.

Cen Villaneuva took the MegaMillions ticket she had just sold a customer at Alkobar on Cook Street in Palm Desert, and rubbed it on a Chinese Golden Lion figurine sitting on top of her cash register.  

“Its good luck,” she said. “We all need luck for this one.” 

Expect for the rubbing of tickets on lucky lions, similar scenes have been going on all across California and 42 other states where players are looking for a chunk of Friday’s estimated $640 million jackpot – the largest lotto prize in North Ameircan history.  

Find out what's happening in Palm Desertwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Villanueva says Alkobar is selling MegaMillions tickets as fast as the can print them. 

“It’s crazy, very crazy,” she told Patch. “Even the regular customers who don’t play – they’re playing.” 

Find out what's happening in Palm Desertwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Other lotto retailers are saying their MegaMillions sales are skyrocketing as well in advance of the half-billion dollar draw. 

“We’re through the roof.” Said the manager of one Palm Desert lotto retailer who wished not to be identified.  “We’re selling Mega in really big numbers.” 

“It’s been crazy busy,” said another retailer who didn’t want to be named. “We’ve had people buying them by the hundreds.  Someone bought 600 quick picks. There’s been a few buying a hundred at a time.”

Whether you buy one ticket, or a thousand, if you are fortunate enough to win the Mega Millions on Friday, you have two options for collecting your cash.

The first is the gimme-all-my-money-now option. Mega Millions pays a one-time lump sum. The cash option for the Friday drawing as it stands at this moment over $360 million.

The second option is to have your Mega Millions jackpot paid out over 26 years. For every $1 million in the jackpot, you will receive approximately $38,500 per year before taxes.

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