Pennsylvania Lottery players couldn't buy Powerball or Mega Millions tickets for part of Tuesday. Here's why
UPDATE: The transition to the new computer system was completed, so players can now buy tickets as they normally would.
The previous story is below.
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- With $645 million on the line for the Powerball and $875 million for the Mega Millions, you won't be able to buy lottery tickets in Pennsylvania today.
Lottery sales terminals won't be working in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, March 19 because of upgrades to the system and portals. The Pennsylvania Lottery said it's all because the lottery is modernizing its system.
During the short-term outage time, lottery drawings will continue. Processing claims will take longer this month and you won't be able to redeem Pennsylvania Lottery retail coupons through Wednesday, March 20.
Inside Dave's BP on Evergreen Road, it's a busy time selling lottery ticket. "Lottery is a big revenue for us," owner David Borgan said. He said customers have purchased winning lottery tickets in his store before.
"Different people got lucky and a couple combos, bunch of zeros, so they were very happy customers," said Borgan.
The store has had signs posted all week warning people about the one-day outage. Whether you're buying tickets for yourself or a friend, many people see the lottery as a chance to dream big.
Customer Keith Root showed KDKA-TV his ticket he bought and called it "the winning ticket."
"My girlfriend, if I don't get them now, she's going to have a fit because tomorrow will be shut down," said another customer, Thomas James.
Kimberly Howard, another lottery ticket customer said, "If I win, I would buy my mom -- pay her house off. Pay my daughter's house off. And spend it with my nieces, give my nieces a little bit of money, and the church."
Maybe you picked random numbers or lucky meaningful ones, and just maybe for the first time ever, you'll be the one to win a big jackpot. The Powerball drawing is Monday night and the Mega Millions drawing is Tuesday, which means it's your last chance to buy those tickets today.
