OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — The total jackpot for Tuesday’s Mega Millions jackpot is $1.1 billion. Players have strategies like buying tickets at “lucky” stores or playing certain numbers.
The Cosentino’s Price Chopper at 7418 West 119th St. in Overland Park, Kansas, sold a winning Powerball ticket in November 2022. A store representative expects lottery sales to be busy Tuesday.
“What you do notice is on the days where the pot’s really big, it’s really popping, and people know they can win a lot of money — throughout the day it’s more steady," Price Chopper representative Nancy Mays explained. "People come in, they want to get their tickets.”
The winner of that Powerball jackpot claimed their winnings this month. While they remained anonymous, they told the Kansas Lottery Office they plan to donate money, help their family and travel.
In 2012, Mark and Cindy Hill took home $136 million after taxes in a Powerball jackpot. The Hills bought their ticket at the Trex Mart at 17605 County Highway Z in Dearborn, Missouri. The Hills lived in nearby Camden Point.
The family invested the money back in their community. They purchased land that became athletic fields and a picnic shelter at Camden Point City Park. They also bought and donated land for the city to build a sewage treatment plant, but the project hasn’t yet begun. The Hills also paid for Camden Point to build a new fire station with better access to the highway.
“They were lifesavers for us up here,” said Mayor Mark Wagoner, who’s served on the city council for decades.
Mark Hill passed away in 2019, but Cindy still lives in Camden Point. Wagoner said the family is as humble as ever.
“Didn’t want any glory from it,” Wagoner said. “More or less wanted to be kept anonymous. We tried to honor them as grand marshals of our Freedom Festival parade we have [the last Saturday of June] and they didn’t want that. They give because they wanted to give. They give because the community had given to them. That’s how they felt.”
A Shawnee, Kansas, man won $50 million in 2019. He admitted to not knowing he had the winning ticket for days.
A Mega Millions ticket cost $2, you must be 18 or older to buy one. The deadline to buy one in Missouri and Kansas for tonight’s drawing is 8:59 p.m. The drawing is at 10 p.m. The odds of winning are about 1 in 302,000,000.
