As the Mega Millions jackpot swelled to an estimated $810 million on Tuesday, players across the country tried their luck — including Todd Graves, the founder of the Raising Cane’s fast-food restaurant chain.
At $2 a ticket, Graves spent $100,000 and bought 50,000 tickets Monday, one for each of his 50,000 employees at the chicken chain with locations in 35 states.
“Times are tough out there,” Raising Cane CEO AJ Kumaran told CNN. “(Employees) see it at their gas stations and gas pumps, they see it on their grocery store shelves … Things aren’t exactly easy these days, so when we saw that there was a chance to not only have some fun, but you could would make a little extra money for our people, we wanted to do it.”
Tuesday’s draw had an estimated cash value of $470.1 million. If won, it would be the third-largest Mega Millions jackpot prize in the game’s history, according to the lottery’s website.
“Buying 50,000 lottery tickets is harder than you think!” Graves wrote on Twitter. “Hopefully sharing the winning jackpot with our team of 50,000 @RaisingCanes.”
If any of the 50,000 tickets produced a winner, Kumaran said the prize would be shared among all employees, calling it a “collective ticket for everyone.”
The feedback from the officials is nothing but excitement and anticipation for the draw, Kumaran said.
Friday’s winning numbers were 14, 40, 60, 64, 66, plus the golden Mega Ball 16.
The largest Mega Millions jackpot was $1.537 billion on Oct. 23, 2018, and was sold in South Carolina, according to the lottery’s website. Only four Mega Millions jackpots have been won so far in 2022 – in California, New York, Minnesota and Tennessee.
If Tuesday’s drawing doesn’t produce a winner, Kumaran said the chain plans to play again.
“If there is no winner, we will buy until there is no winner,” he said.
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