Lottery hopefuls keep Sidney outlets hopping

As the jackpot for Tuesday night's Mega Millions drawing rocketed past the $600 million mark, clerks at local outlets struggled to keep up with demand.

"They're going pretty quick," said Billy Steele at Western Convenience. "It's always this busy when the jackpot gets this high."

By mid-morning on Tuesday, lottery officials bumped the estimated payoff up to $636 million, the second largest amount in U.S. history and nearing the $656 Mega Millions figure from March of 2012.

As a result, explained Rebecca Callahan at the Git 'n Split location on 10th Avenue, "we probably sold more yesterday than...