50,000 Employees Given 'Lucky Lottery'... 1st Prize Odds 1 in 302.5 Million Amid US Lottery Craze

$1 Billion Jackpot
4th Largest Amount in US Lottery History
Fast Food Chain Buys Lottery Tickets for All 50,000 Employees
Purchases Continue Until Winner Emerges

Mega Millions Lottery in the United States. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jung-wan] As the jackpot for the US 'Mega Millions' lottery soared to 1 billion dollars (about 1.3 trillion won), a growing number of people are lining up to buy tickets, according to foreign media including the AP News.

The jackpot for matching all six numbers is the fourth largest amount in the history of US lotteries, with the odds of winning first prize at 1 in 302.5 million. The prize money has increased so much because there have been no winners for 29 consecutive draws since April 15, causing the prize to accumulate.

There was no first prize winner in the draw on this day either. As the jackpot increased significantly, lottery sales also rose accordingly. Sales went up from 116 million dollars on the 19th to 172.1 million dollars on the 22nd, and the expected sales on this day reached 262.1 million dollars.

As the lottery jackpot grew this high, some companies began distributing lottery tickets to their employees. CNN reported that Todd Graves, founder of the US fast-food chain Raising Cane's, gave one Mega Millions lottery ticket for the jackpot of 830 million dollars (about 1.0885 trillion won) being drawn that day to all 50,000 employees working in 35 states across the US, including himself.

Graves spent 100,000 dollars (about 131.12 million won) to purchase 50,000 Mega Millions lottery tickets, giving all employees nationwide a chance at luck.

AJ Kumaran, CEO of Raising Cane's, said in an interview with CNN, "These are tough times. Employees feel the hardship at gas stations and grocery shelves. The situation is not easy, but we wanted to give employees some fun and an additional chance to earn money."

Graves tweeted, "Buying 50,000 lottery tickets was harder than I thought," adding, "If even one person wins, I hope all 50,000 employees can share the prize." CEO Kumaran also said that if there is a winner, the prize money will be distributed among all 50,000 employees.

CEO Kumaran said that if there is no winner in the draw on the 26th, Raising Cane's plans to purchase lottery tickets again for its employees, stating, "We will continue buying tickets until there is a winner."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.