Residents dreaming what they would do with $1.1 billion Mega Millions jackpot

CHICOPEE, MA (WGGB/WSHM) -- Tuesday is a big night for lottery players out there. We once again have a Mega Millions jackpot that is a little more than one billion dollars and some in western Massachusetts are already talking about what they would do with that kind of dough.

Some of us can have an idea of what winning one million dollars looks like, but imagine what winning a billion dollars looks like. Millions of people across the nation have a chance to do just that with Mega Millions having an estimated jackpot of $1.1 billion, making some western Massachusets residents excited.

“The first time I ever scratched a ticket, I won $108…but I’ve won nothing since then, except for a couple of dollars here and there,” said Sam Glover of Springfield.

]The cash value for the grand prize winner would be a little more than $550 million, which is still a lot of cash. Western Mass News stopped by The Copperline in Chicopee and saw some customers take a minute to buy what they hope is the winning ticket. Glover is the founder of the nonprofit Allison’s Helping Hand. She said she would use a good chunk of the money to make a more teen friendly space in the city.

“A skate park under the highway would be excellent…and having a teen lounge with a snack bar and having local kids bands play…just a safe space for kids because there is not a lot of places with them around here,” Glover added.

Glover also said she would put some of the winnings into research for retinitis pigmentosa, an eye disease in which an eye’s back wall is damaged and causes vision impairment. At the moment, she has this advice for those thinking about playing.

“If you don’t put in a number, you have zero chance of winning,” Glover added.

The next Mega Millions drawing is at 11 p.m. Tuesday.

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