Mega Millions lottery draws Utahns to Arizona for chance to win big

ST. GEORGE, Utah — When most Utahns hear about a big prize above a billion dollars, they're out of luck. That is unless they live in southern Utah with a 30-minute drive from Arizona.“I'm from St. George, Utah and I have the winning tickets,” Cindy Gaines yelled waving her Mega Millions tickets.Gaines runs Discount Plumbing with her husband Josh in St. George, though she admits that doesn’t make them rich.“It keeps us going and we pride ourselves on not being a big corporation,” she said. “But when we win, we're going to reinvest the money in our company, keep our prices down and keep our customers happy. “What Gaines wants to win is the Mega Millions national lottery prize being drawn on Friday night which will be somewhere above $1.2 billion.While national lotteries aren’t legal in Utah, people in southern Utah are willing to drive 30 minutes across the state line to Arizona - where Mega Millions can be played.St. George resident Brian Cram was one of them and said his reason for chasing a billion-dollar dream is to not worry about finances.“I mean obviously there's house and cars and being able to get those things when you want,” said Cram. “But ultimately, yeah, it's just you, your friends, your family saying, ‘Hey, you're done worrying about those kind of things.’”The Eagles Landing truck stop is the first place people driving down the freeway from Southern Utah can get to where the Arizona Lottery can be played.But it wasn’t just people from Utah who were from out of state.“I’m coming from Las Vegas!” exclaimed Elinor Gacae. “You know, there’s no lottery over there so I just needed to make sure I get some lottery tickets.”If nobody wins on Friday night, then at least another $100 million will be added to the prize, making it at least $1.3 to $1.4 billion for the next draw on Tuesday. Copyright 2024 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.