Local Woman Playing In Lottery Pool -- With Total Strangers
NORWOOD, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- You won't have to worry about your stock portfolio if you win Tuesday's Mega Millions jackpot.
Many are playing their lucky numbers for a chance at the massive jackpot. Some are even teaming up with strangers, hoping to win big, CBS2's Scott Rapoport reported.
With more than $1.6 billion -- that's billion with a "B" -- up for grabs, millions of manic Mega ballers are machinating means for a Mega miracle.
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They are playing quick picks, lucky numbers, and some are even pooling money with their friends to up their odds.
But not Diana Dine-Matos.
"No, I do it different," she told CBS2's Rapoport with a laugh.
Norwood resident Dine-Matos has come up with a most novel approach. She decided to form a lottery pool, with potential strangers.
"Absolutely, there are strangers that I don't know," Dine-Matos said.
MORE: Lottery Mania: Do You Really Know How Much $2.2 Billion Is?
On Monday at 10 p.m. she said went on the page for the Facebook group "Norwood, N.J. families" and shouted out her big idea to its members, many of whom she's never met.
"I was just sitting on the couch and thinking about what can we do differently and it just kind of popped into my head," Dine-Matos said.
"OK, Norwood peeps!! Would love to have a lotto pool for our community! I can organize it," she wrote.
She said she was hoping for at least 20 people to participate and everyone to spend $10 per person.
She asked prospective players to send the money to her Venmo account.
The response has been enormous. To date, she said 45 people have signed up and sent her the money, meaning she will able to buy 225 Mega Millions tickets.
MORE: What To Do If You Win The Lottery
Now, we know what you all may be thinking right about now, so Rapoport asked her.
"How do people know you are not gonna just take the money and run?"
"Well, I think they now definitely know where I live, so they know where to find me now," Dine-Matos said with a laugh.
And on Tuesday night, if Dine-Matos gets insanely lucky, she and her fellow pool members will suddenly have a lot more in common.
Instant wealth.
Dine-Matos said the cut off to be part of the pool was 4:30 p.m. She'll buy the tickets, take pictures of them and email the photos to everyone who chipped in so they can see the numbers.
And CBS2 will have the winning Mega Millions numbers for you on Tuesday night during the 11 p.m. news.
