Illinois Lotto Offers Record $68 Million

Illinoisans and anyone else who could fly, drive, walk or hitchhike into the state lined up Saturday for a 13-million-to-1 shot at $68 million, the world’s biggest lottery jackpot.

Sales of $1 tickets in the Lotto game were halted just two minutes before the televised drawing Saturday night and the dreams of ticket-holders across the state, nation and world hinged on matching the six numbers drawn: 3, 14, 32, 40, 46 and 54.

Lottery officials said they would not know until today whether there was a winner.

Lotto machines were spitting out 30,000 tickets a minute just hours before the drawing. Lines of would-be millionaires spilled out of lottery outlets. At O’Hare International Airport, travelers bought tickets between flights.

“I always wanted a pair of handmade Italian shoes,” said Audrey Bullock, an airline reservations clerk who flew in from Detroit to buy tickets. “I would go to Italy and say: ‘Measure my foot and make me some green shoes, the color of money.’ ”

The jackpot, bolstered by a week of record sales, beat the old record of $61.98 million, set in October in California. That pot was shared among three holders of winning tickets.

Lottery officials fielded calls all week from every state, the Netherlands, Britain, France, Italy, Canada and Mexico as foreigners sought a piece of the action.

Huck’s convenience store in the southern Illinois town of Carmi had Hoosiers and Kentuckians waiting in the parking lot before sales began at 6 a.m.

In Chicago, ticket vendors said they saw everyone from poor residents of the West Side drawing on their savings to professionals spending hundreds of dollars.

The jackpot would bring a single winner 20 annual payments of $3.35 million each, minus federal and state taxes.