Raising Cane's CEO to buy 50K Mega Millions tickets, hopes to share prize with employees

CINCINNATI – Tuesday's Mega Millions jackpot is a whopping $810 million, and it seems everyone wants to get in on the luck of the upcoming draw – including Raising Cane's founder and CEO Todd Graves.

Raising Cane's announced Monday that Graves will purchase 50,000 Mega Millions tickets – one for each of the 50,000 employees at the fast food chicken restaurant. 

"Buying 50,000 lottery tickets is harder than you think!" Graves wrote on Twitter Sunday. "Hoping to share the winning jackpot with our 50,000 @RaisingCanes Crew."

If any of the 50,000 tickets is the lucky winner, Graves said, he will distribute the winnings throughout Raising Cane's, giving each employee the opportunity to win thousands of dollars, according to a news release from the restaurant chain.

“As soon as we heard how big this jackpot prize is, we couldn’t miss out on the chance to win the Mega Millions jackpot and share it with our crew who always stand together,” Graves said in the release. “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.” 

At $2 each, 50,000 Mega Millions tickets would cost $100,000.

The $810 million jackpot, with a cash option of $470.1 million, is the third-highest in Mega Millions history, according to the lottery game's website. The jackpot rose after no ticket in Friday's drawing matched all six numbers – 14, 40, 60, 64 and 66, plus the gold Mega Ball 16 – for the $630 million jackpot (cash option $359.7 million).

Four tickets matched the five white balls: three winners Friday (in Delaware, New Jersey and New York) for $3 million each because they included the optional Megaplier, and the fourth, sold in Virginia, worth $1 million.

The Mega Millions drawing is Tuesday at 11 p.m EDT.

Contributing: Wyatte Grantham-Philips and Mike Snider, USA TODAY