Mega Millions jackpot now a whopping $640 million

Lottery ticket lines swelled as the record Mega Millions jackpot grew to $640 million, thanks greatly to players who opened their wallets despite long odds of success. Officials estimated ticket-buyers will have spent more than $1.46 billion on the jackpot by the time Friday night's numbers are drawn.

The jackpot, if taken as a $462 million lump sum and after federal tax withholding, works out to about $347 million. With the jackpot odds at 1 in 176 million, it would cost $176 million to buy up every combination. Under that scenario, the strategy would win $171 million less if your state also withholds taxes.

Kelly Cripe, a spokeswoman for the Texas Lottery Commission, said that as of Tuesday, nationwide sales for the Mega Millions drawing totaled more than $839 million. Officials projected an additional $618.5 million in sales ahead of Friday's drawing, however, for a projected total sales figure of more than $1.46 billion.

Mike Catalano, chairman of the mathematics department at Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell, S.D., concedes the math is clear: The more tickets you buy, the better chances you have of winning. Better long-shot chances, of course. "You are about 50 times as likely to get struck by lightning as to win the lottery, based on the 90 people a year getting struck by lightning," Catalano said. "Of course, if you buy 50 tickets, you've equalized your chances of winning the jackpot with getting struck by lightning."

Based on other U.S. averages, you're about 8,000 times more likely to be murdered than to win the lottery, and about 20,000 times more likely to die in a car crash than hit the lucky numbers, Catalano said.

Lottery officials are happy to have Friday's record Mega Millions jackpot fueling ticket sales, but even they caution against overspending. "When people ask me, I just tell them that the odds of a lottery game make it a game of fate," said Chuck Strutt, executive director of the Urbandale, Iowa-based Multi-State Lottery Association that oversees the Mega Millions, Powerball and other lotteries. "Just buy a ticket, sit back and see if fate points a finger at you for that day."

Lottery madness trivia:

• Cash option: $462 million ($115.5 million federal withholding & $23.1 million state taxes) makes lump sum payment $323.4 million cash
• Annuity option: $24.6 million per year ($6.15 million federal withholding & $1.23 million state taxes) makes annual payment $17.22 million
• MegaMillion sales have doubled in Iowa each day since the drawing on Tuesday night
• The $640 million jackpot is nearly double the previous record jackpot
• The jackpot amount estimate is conservative and will probably end up being even higher; it is not expected to be raised again until the drawing takes place after ticket sales stop
• The Iowa Lottery usually knows within the hour whether they have a jackpot winner. This one could take longer because of the size of the numbers
• Busiest sales hours will be between 4-7pm today
• The Lottery and its retailers are in contact to make sure they don't run out of paper in their machines
• About 90% of numbers have been played, so there's a 90% chance someone will win tonight
• If there is no winner following tonight's drawing, the next jackpot will be nearly $1 billion
• The lottery will now have to change its marketing because of this drawing: (Pre-record radio commercials with jackpot numbers stop at $500 million, billboards only go to $999 million); they will eventually have to change those because of this jackpot so million can change to billion.