2008-05-09 09:05:10 -

www.calottery.com/ - Tonight the California Lottery is offering up a $145 million MEGA Millions jackpot, which is currently the largest lottery jackpot in the country. That could make for one heck of a Mother's Day!

Tickets cost only $1. Tickets can be purchased until 7:45 p.m. tonight. Winning numbers are drawn at 8 p.m. Players must

match five numbers plus the Mega number to claim the top prize.

Tickets are available at more than 20,000 California Lottery retail locations throughout the state. Players can find authorized retailers by visiting www.calottery.com/locations.

As jackpots rise, the California Lottery would like to remind players that gambling should be fun. Borrowing money to play, spending above a person's budget or using money intended for other purposes can ultimately lead to significant problems for players and their families. If a player recognizes that they have a gambling problem or if someone knows of someone who may have a problem, the California Lottery recommends calling the Problem Gambling Help Line at 1-800-GAMBLER.

More than 95 cents of every Lottery dollar is returned to the community in the form of contributions to education, prizes and retail commissions. The California Lottery contributes at least 34 cents of every dollar that players spend on Lottery products to public education and returns more than 50 percent of sales to players in the form of prizes. Since its inception in 1985, the Lottery has contributed more than $20 billion to California schools out of total sales of nearly $55 billion. Retailers benefit too, earning $3.5 billion in compensation since 1985.

www.calottery.com

California State Lottery
Olga Gallardo or Cathy Doyle Johnston, 916-324-9639