The Christmas Eve Mega Millions lottery drawing in the New York Lottery came up 15, 16, 27, 40 and 52, with a Mega Ball of 18. For a group of construction workers at the World Trade Center site, the difference between a Mega Ball of 18 and their pick of 16 meant the difference between a $250,000 second prize, and a grand prize in the hundreds of millions. With no winner Friday, the prize is currently $380 million.
The 18 man crew pooled their five dollar ticket purchases and received a little over $9000 each, after taxes, as a return on their investment. There were actually 11 winning second-prize tickets for $250,000 each, for getting five of six numbers correct that night. But, because of the location of their jobsite, it seemed fitting that the crew should get a gift on Christmas Eve.
In something of a concidence there were 11 winning tickets, one of which was for a group of men rebuilding on the site of the September 11th attacks, just days away from the start of 2011.