“Our crew was very excited last time,” co-CEO AJ Kumaran told The Washington Post. “So we decided to try our luck again. Now we are all excited, waiting and cutting our fingers to win.”
The grand prize has a cash payment option of $648.2 million. If the ticket purchased by Raising Cane’s is the winner, the CEOs will split the amount evenly among their employees, meaning workers will receive nearly $13,000 each – a welcome extra cash amid the uncertainty of The changing job marketAnd the inflation And the Recession fears.
“Listen, I hear from our crew all the time, and things are really tough,” Kumaran said. “Whether they’re pumping gas or buying groceries, they feel it and it’s tough. So this was a chance to have fun but at the same time, I hope we can make a little extra money for our people.”
after some He questioned the executives’ decision to throw more money into a game with little chances of winning.
“You spent $100,000 on tickets and lost, and would you do it again? Why not give the money, and give $200,000 to your employees?” CNN Kumaran’s John Berman asked during an interview. an interview Wednesday.
Kumaran’s response to the purchase Lottery tickets were “more than just money”. The decision to split the potential winnings reflects “caring for each other [and] We stand by each other as a family.”
He told The Post that the idea of buying lottery tickets came down to “doing the right thing” for employees — and having a little fun with that.
“I don’t think it’s $100,000. It’s really $2 per crew member.” “And if you think of it that way, it’s just a few dollars. They work hard every day, and we do it for them to have fun and test their luck. So I feel good about doing that.”
Kumaran She also noted the $200 million in increases the company has paid its employees over the past two years. Rising Cane announced last year that it would do just that wage increase About 15 percent for most employees.
The idea for the lottery got its start last Thursday, when Mega Millions announced that its jackpot win had ballooned into one of the biggest in the game’s history. That’s when Kumaran suggested buying Raising Cane for tickets. However, the company’s general counsel said he wasn’t thrilled with the idea.
Undeterred, Kumaran tapped co-CEO and founder, Todd Graves, to Ticket financing from his own pocket. “We thought, ‘Okay, let’s do that ASAP because how hard is it to print 50,000 tickets?'” “
As it turns out, very difficult. Between getting the necessary cash from four different banks and connecting two 7-Eleven stores in Dallas to print tickets, the plan turned into a 10-hour operation on Monday.
“Let me tell you, it’s nerve-wracking to be at a gas station with $100,000 in cash,” Kumaran said.
He chewed a hot dog as tickets were slowly being printed in orange and white. The machine had to be refilled twice—something that usually happens “every two months or so,” Kumaran said, the gas station manager said. Meanwhile, other customers have complained About the machine taken hostage.
However, this hustle wasn’t in vain – although he did help Kumaran figure out a way to streamline the process for his next attempt on Wednesday. That day, instead of walking around town with piles of money, he was able to funnel $100,000 into 7-Eleven. However, the eight-hour wait for tickets to be printed remained the same.
On Friday evening, a small crew of Raising Cane staff will scan all 50,000 tickets to see if any of them are able to break the Mega Millions streak of 29 consecutive draws without a winner – a long-awaited transfer that inspired both.”Jackpot chasers“And serious gamblers to get rid of their money.
Only four major jackpots have been hit this year, with the last prize – worth about $20 million – winning on April 15 in Tennessee.
The odds of winning on Super Friday are about 1 in 303 million – the odds of suffering a toilet-related injury or naming a saint are much higher.
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