Mega Millions Madness in NH

A record jackpot is generating record lottery sales in New Hampshire.

Just how wild is it at the state's 1,200 lottery retailers? 

Patch put that question to Charlie McIntyre, executive director of the New Hampshire Lottery.

"We're in the land of Bugs Bunny," McIntyre said.

At 2 p.m. Thursday, NH Lottery retailers were recording more than 50,000 transactions an hour, McIntyre said in a phone interview. That number will only increase into tomorrow and ahead of the Mega Millions drawing at 11 p.m. Friday.

Expect lines to form Friday, the lottery chief says, adding, "Buy your tickets today."

With that record jackpot – say it out loud, "a half-billion dollars" – the state Lottery will do about half of last year's business in one week.

Powerball ticket sales may suffer a bit from the focus on Mega Millions, but other games will do well, according to McIntyre. If people are waiting in line for a Mega Millions ticket(s), they will typically pick up some scratch tickets, he explains.