Raising Cane’s an American fast food chain from Baton Rouge, Louisiana bought an additional 50,000 lottery tickets for the Mega Millions jackpot, which currently stands at $1.28 billion, making it the second largest in the game’s history. 

Their first 50,000 tickets didn’t result in any winners. The company intends to represent its 50,000-strong workforce with each ticket, and if they win, the money will be divided among the workforce.

The odds currently stand at 1 in 303 million, but the question is whether buying more tickets raises the chances of winning. While buying more tickets definitely increases the chances of winning, 50,000 to 303 million is as astronomical as 1 in 303 million. 

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COO AJ Kumaran acknowledged the same, saying that it was more about having “fun”, and if they win, each employee stands to make around $13,000. 

However, buying two rounds of tickets has already cost the company $200,000, with many pointing out why this money isn’t being directly divided amongst workers. Kumaran had noted that each ticket costs $2 an employee, so a two-dollar bump isn’t as significant as the money that might come in if they beat the astronomical odds. 

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After the first round, the company had vowed to keep buying tickets until a winner’s declared. 

The company had notably increased wages for most employees by 15% in 2021. Kumaran also told CNN, “Things aren’t exactly easy these days, so when we saw there is a chance to not only have a little fun, but maybe win a little bit extra money for our people, we wanted to do it”. 

CEO Todd Graves in a statement, as reported by The Mercury News, had said “None of what we do at Cane’s would be possible without our crew, which is why we are always looking for ways to bring them a little extra fun, and if we’re lucky, a surprise on Wednesday morning”.