Mega Millions fever hits Vermont
FAIRFAX, Vt. (WCAX) - Could a Vermonter be the one to take home the Mega Millions prize? The odds are miniscule to hit the $910 million jackpot but lady luck could be shining on someone.
“Almost everyone who is coming through is buying at least one ticket if not more,” said Monique Yergeau, who works at Minor’s Country Store in Fairfax.
Lottery players will have the chance to add almost a billion dollars to their bank account Friday night. It would break a stretch of more than three months without a big winner. Yergeau says she would give back to her children if she won. “Pay off my house, pay off all the kids’ school loans, buy them all a house,” she said.
Vermont Lottery officials say it’s been a while since a Vermonter won the Mega Millions. “We have had a $5 million Mega Millions winner who matched some of the numbers back in August in 2016,” said Department of Liquor and Lottery Deputy Commissioner Andrew Collier.
After the recent flooding, Yergeau hopes those who lost their homes can hit it big. “They need the help more than I do, you know. Some people have lost everything. I see it on the news all the time and I just want to cry,” she said.
Other Fairfax residents like Samuel Hervin will not buy a lottery ticket. “I just don’t trust that it’s a real thing anymore. I really think it’s just something for people to do. It generates revenue,” he said.
Vermont last year brought in more than $151 million in lottery revenue, with $31 million of that going to the Education Fund. Now, with the big jackpot up for grabs, the state could cash in again.
Komalpreet Singh Saini, the owner of Han’s Deli and Grocery in Fairfax says it’s been a hectic day. “It’s a big day, honestly. A lot of people are buying Mega Millions tickets in America and hopefully someone wins tonight and looking forward to -- if we sell it -- to the winner and someone wins here in Vermont,” he said.
The odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot are 1 in about 300 million.
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