STATE : Lottery Sweetens the Pot, Adds $10 Million for Saturday’s Draw

A surprise bonus prize will push Saturday’s jackpot in the California Lottery’s Lotto 6-49 game to a guaranteed $30 million, lottery officials said today.

“This is the new decade kickoff--off with a bang,” said lottery spokeswoman Joanne McNabb.

No one correctly guessed all six numbers in Wednesday’s drawing, leaving the $7.6-million grand prize unclaimed. Typically, the jackpot in the next drawing would have jumped to about $15 million.

Lottery officials announced earlier this month that they would augment the grand prize by $10 million some time in January.

“This is it,” McNabb said. “This is a surprise. . . . This is the first time we’ve had a special lotto jackpot bonus. It may not be the last.”

Lottery statisticians expect increased sales to boost the jackpot another $5 million to the $30-million total.