Who wants to be a (multi) millionaire?

COEUR d'ALENE - A Coeur d'Alene man may have bought his wife a very valuable birthday present at Kathleen Chevron.

For just $2.

Frank Pulido was at the gas station Monday buying a Mega Millions ticket. He said he doesn't normally purchase lottery tickets, but the fact that it's his wife's birthday, coupled with a larger-than-normal prize, prompted him to take a chance.

By Monday, the jackpot for the nationwide game reached $586 million, the second-largest since the game was launched in 2002. The record, set last year, is $656 million.

Paula Otto, executive director of the Virginia Lottery and Mega Millions' lead director, told the Associated Press that ticket sales are ahead of projections for Tuesday's drawing, increasing the likelihood that the record could fall by then. If the prize goes unclaimed for a 22nd consecutive drawing, the next one likely would shatter the record, set in March 2012, she said.

"I think we'll be very close to the record, and maybe even surpass it," Otto said, adding that sales are difficult to predict.

Although a person is 10 times more likely to be sanctified by the Catholic Church than have the winning numbers, David Workman, spokesman for the Idaho Lottery, told The Press Monday, "If you do not have a ticket, you have no chance of winning."

Workman added that the state lottery commission does not encourage residents to purchase large quantities of lottery tickets as a way to beat the odds. Instead, he referenced winners such as a Post Falls woman who split a jackpot with a couple from Washington.

"She only spent $5 and won," Workman said.

Teri Heinrich, of Coeur d'Alene, also purchased a ticket she hopes will be the winner.

"You have to play to win," Heinrich said.

If she does win big, Heinrich said she would help her kids and "take a nice vacation."

"I would also do a lot for the community," Heinrich, who buys a ticket once a month, said. "You could do a lot of really good stuff with that money."

The Mega Millions drawing takes place at 8 p.m. In order to qualify for the drawing, tickets must be purchased prior to 6:55 p.m. today.