Houstonians try their luck at a record $1.6 billion lottery jackpot

The Mega Millions jackpot for the Tuesday, Oct. 23 drawing is a record $1.6 billion. The Mega Millions jackpot for the Tuesday, Oct. 23 drawing is a record $1.6 billion. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Houstonians try their luck at a record $1.6 billion lottery jackpot 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Salim Palsani normally doesn't give in to lottery fever, content instead with selling tickets rather than buying any himself.

But this week, Palsani who manages an Exxon Mobil, purchased three Mega Millions tickets at three different locations and has even insisted his two daughters and son cash in as well.

"How could I not?" Palsani said.

For the first time, the Mega Millions jackpot is estimated at a whopping $1.6 billion. Lottery players across Houston and the U.S. have been lining up for a slim yet real chance at transforming their life overnight.

The estimated cash option is nearly $905 million, according to the game's website.

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The Texaco Dunlavy Mart near Dallas and Dunlavy sold $7,000 in Mega Millions tickets on Friday alone, said store manager Woo Lee. On Monday, the Mega Millions website crashed followed a larger number of visitors than usual, the Maryland Gaming Commission told Reuters.

"Mega Millions has already entered historic territory, but it's truly astounding to think that now the jackpot has reached an all-time world record," Gordon Medenica, lead director of the Mega Millions Group, said in a statement.

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Palsani noted that there's been an increase in first time players trying their luck. So much so that he plans to staff two extra employees at the 4910 Weslayan Exxon store in order to serve customers looking for tickets and to help guide them on how the game works.

Marta Tamez from the East End is one such player. She never bothered with Mega Millions or the Powerball before, thinking it was impossible for one person to win that much money thanks to a $2 slip of paper.

Yet last week, a friend encouraged Tamez, 48, to buy a ticket and at least to join in the fun. She gave him the money and he handled the rest. Though none of her numbers matched up, she planned to buy her own ticket Monday night.

"I'd first buy a big house then give to the needy," Tamez said.

Tamez's initial pessimism over her chances of winning are in many ways warranted.

Cornelius Nelan, a math professor at Quinnipiac University in Connecticut, told The Associated Press, the odds of winning the jackpot are about the same as rolling a die 11 times in a row and getting a one each time.

Assuming one does beat the odds, the aftermath of winning can be its own game.

For the last 20 years Robert Pagliarini, president of the California-based wealth management firm, Pacifica Wealth Advisors, has worked with lottery winners across the country, helping them sort out the next steps.

According to Pagliarini, winners tend to feel two visceral emotions at once: excitement, and as one client called it "a sense of doom."

That doom often stems from what Pagliarini calls the "lottery curse." Jackpot winners in the past have ended up losing all their wealth or even gone to jail after a series of ill-advised financial decisions.

"Money doesn't solve all of your problems" he said.

While the jackpot can be used to better the winner's life, it can also hurt interpersonal relationships, leaving the winner with anxiety that drives wrong moves. It's all about thinking of the jackpot as a new financial responsibility, Pagliarini added.

Should anyone be so fortune to win the massive jackpot Tuesday night, Pagliarini advises three immediate steps: sign the winning ticket, take a photo both of the ticket and of oneself with the ticket, and hire either a business attorney or financial adviser to be there during the visit to the local lottery office.

Luck already struck in San Antonio this month when a Floresville resident won $5 million in the Oct. 16 Mega Millions drawing by matching five numbers with the Megaplier feature that adds to a base prize.

Tuesday's drawing takes place at 10 p.m.

"While we're hoping that the lucky winner will be a Texan, we want to remind our players to play responsibly," Gary Grief, executive director of the Texas Lottery, said in a statement. "It only takes one ticket to win."

Ileana Najarro reports on immigration and social issues at the Houston Chronicle. She can be reached at Ileana.Najarro@chron.com or on Twitter @IleanaNajarro.