Seven IT Workers Reportedly Win $319 Million Jackpot

March 27, 2011— -- A handful of New York state government workers may be able to quit their jobs, if reports are true that the group of seven were the lucky ones who hit the $319 million Mega Millions jackpot in Friday night's drawing.

Emanuel Biondi, public employees federation council leader for New York's Division of Housing and Community Renewal, told CNN the big winners were seven information technology professionals at the agency.

No one has stepped forward to claim the prize or state that they are holding the winning ticket. The state lottery office has not been open since the drawing Friday night.

The winning ticket was purchased at Coulson's News Center, a mainstay downtown news and convenience store in the state capitol, according to the Mega Millions website.

"It's very neat to know someone who comes into my store is going to be very wealthy from a ticket we sold them. It makes me feel warm inside," Steve Hutchins, owner of Coulson, told lotterypost.com.

The winning numbers were 22-24-31-52-54, with Megaball number 4, and the jackpot is the sixth-highest in the game's history. The largest jackpot was $390 million in March 2007.

If the winner or winners take the prize in a one-time, lump-summ the payment will be $202.9 million after taxes.

Steve Gallucci, the manager of Coulson's, told ABC affiliate WTEN-TV in Albany that he doesn't yet know who won.

"A lot of office people come in," he said. "A lot of regulars."

The biggest winner the store ever had before was a $3.5 million state Lotto winner.

Asked whether he had any preference for who among his customers might have won the jackpot, he said: "I just hope it is somebody who's going to use the money in a good way."

The jackpot has increased every Tuesday and Friday since Feb. 1, when the previous winners, the Bolke family of Illinois and a group of postal workers in Michigan, split a $93 million jackpot.

And despite the astronomically small chances of winning the growing jackpot, Mega Millions will still draw plenty of early retirement dreamers.

But given the long odds of winning Mega Millions jackpot, the lottery's website welcome page message to use your payout to "Save For Retirement" is a curious one -- and possibly a dangerous one, gambling experts say.

Those three words are etched above the image of a piggy bank against a clear blue sky on the Mega Millions website. It's one of a series of serving suggestions for your lottery "dreams" along with exotic trips and gifts.

Click here to see the Mega Millions homepage image.

But, you'll have better luck getting struck by lightning. And, given your life span, you might have better odds of getting struck by lightning more than 5,000 times before winning such a big prize.