$1,600,000,000.00

By BRIAN WALKER

Staff Writer

COEUR d'ALENE — Bob Meunier hadn't purchased a lottery ticket in 10 years.

That changed Monday.

Tonight's world-record $1.6 billion Mega Millions jackpot and Wednesday's $620 million Powerball draw, the third-largest in the game's 26-year history, is rousting players who've never bought a ticket or haven't tried their luck for years.

"I'm already retired, but I'm sure I'd find a good cause to donate to," said the Coeur d'Alene man after buying tickets for both games at the Maverik on Ramsey Road in Coeur d'Alene.

Meunier said the first charity that came to mind was the Boys Town nonprofit that assists children.

The last Mega Millions jackpot winner was July 24. Nobody’s won the Powerball jackpot since Aug. 11.

"There is no question there is a lot of excitement right now for all of our games in Idaho," said Jeff Anderson, Idaho Lottery director.

That excitement has been evident at Maverik, one of the busiest lottery retailers in the area. It had $5,500 lottery sales for both games on Friday. By comparison, it had $872 on the previous Friday.

Between the two games, $437,519 in tickets were sold in Kootenai County from Wednesday through Saturday last week. Super 1 Foods in Post Falls was the top-selling retailer, followed by Lancaster Market in Hayden, Fred Meyer, Ady's Carwash and Convenience in Post Falls, Super 1 in Rathdrum, Yoke's in Post Falls and Maverik.

"For everyone who played Mega Millions or Powerball over the weekend, we want to encourage everyone to check their tickets for winners and remind them to sign their tickets after they purchase them," Anderson said.

On Friday night, Idaho had 45,816 winning Mega Millions tickets that won prizes totaling about $240,000. On Saturday night, Idaho had more than 18,000 winning Powerball tickets worth a total of nearly $98,000.

Coeur d'Alene's Josh Burkwist, who bought a Mega Millions ticket on Monday, said he generally doesn't play the lottery but he just couldn’t resist with the massive pots of gold beckoning.

"I know the odds are against me, but there are no odds whatsoever if I don't buy a ticket so why not?" he said with a smile.

The odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot are 1 in 302.6 million; Powerball 1 in 292.2 million.

When asked what he'd do if he overcame those odds, Burkwist said, "Whatever I wanted. I'd start by paying off debt and making sure my kids are set up."

Burkwist said a financial advisor told him that if that kind of money rolled in, pausing would be a good idea.

"People get so addicted to spending that it would be best to let it all sink in for six months," he said.

Post Falls' Rachel Williams bought a Mega Millions ticket during her lunch break on Monday to beat today's expected longer lines at some retailers.

"These are crazy lottery times," said Williams, who considers herself a "casual" player.

The largest amount she recalls winning while playing lottery games for the past 15 years was $100.

"So if I won $1.6 billion I'd pass out," she said. "Hopefully I'd wake back up to enjoy it."

Williams said she'd buy a mansion for starters so that her entire family could be together.

"It would have common areas that would give everyone the space they need though," she said with a laugh.

Idaho Lottery also on Sunday launched its Idaho $1,000,000 Raffle, the classic annual holiday draw game with a guaranteed prize of $1 million awarded, usually after New Year’s.

The raffle is in its 12th year and offers players the best overall odds of winning $1 million. Idaho Lottery sells only 250,000 of the $10 tickets between now and New Year's Eve. In addition to the game’s top prize, there are also more than 7,300 prizes in this year’s edition – the most ever offered.

"The start of the Idaho $1,000,000 Raffle brings players to our retailers under normal circumstances," Anderson said. "With these big jackpots, the enthusiasm and activity for this in-state game is even higher."