Queues are expected to form outside Maltco lottery booths today as punters try their luck at winning the record Super 5 jackpot of Lm400,000, which is being drawn this evening.
Someone's life could change overnight if he or she was fortunate enough to have chosen the winning numbers.
But not everyone boils it down to mere chance. A ticket seller at one of the Maltco booths said many punters were superstitious and that is why several bought their tickets at the eleventh hour - the later it is, the higher their chances of winning, or so goes the thinking.
"On the other hand, there are those who want to be the first to buy a ticket when I open the booth at 7 a.m. If they are the first, they feel they stand a better chance of winning."
Today's draw is the highest guaranteed minimum jackpot ever, the previous highest having been Lm330,000 in January, which accumulated to Lm359,475, and before that Lm272,000 in June 1999.
The hefty prize - and what could be done with it - has been on the lips of many hopefuls and the subject of wild dreams over recent weeks.
The jackpot used to be capped but since Maltco Lotteries took over from the Lotto Department, it was established that there would be no limit until it is won.
The past eight jackpots have not been won, Maltco said.
The lottery provides a minimum guaranteed prize fund of Lm40,000, the company explained.
Distributed among the winning ticket holders, the prize fund is 45 per cent of total sales. The first category (five correct numbers) gets 35 per cent of the prize fund; the second category (four correct numbers) gets 30 per cent; and the third (three correct numbers) gets 35 per cent.
The prize fund accumulates when a winner is not found in a winning category. In that case, the corresponding amount is transferred to the same category of the next draw, which continues to increase until there is a winner in that category.
Unless all possible combinations of five numbers are played, there is always the possibility that the Super 5 lottery is not won, Maltco said. Then again, it can be won by more than one person, in which case the jackpot would be split equally between the winners.
Asked whether ticket sales have risen because of the size of the prize, Maltco said they do increase as the jackpot gallops from one level to another. However, given it is the first time the jackpot has reached Lm400,000, it is difficult to assess how the sales may develop, it said.
For the last jackpot, with a guaranteed minimum of Lm330,000 in January, just under one million tickets were sold.
Super 5 tickets are bought by people from all walks of life, as long as they are over 16, from lawyer to housewife, said the Maltco official behind one of the Valletta office counters. Many even pool in to play combinations - tickets with six or more numbers, increasing their chances of winning.
Until yesterday, one of the Valletta booths had sold a ticket with a combination of 10 numbers, costing Lm126 - such is the enthusiasm.
The Maltco official was expecting a day from hell today. "It is a question of mentality. The Maltese like to play at the last minute, although the reality of the matter is that if you have to win, you will at any time on any day.
"I was left breathless last week," he said of the continuous sales until the lottery was drawn. "And I am expecting it to be even busier tomorrow."
The Super 5 lottery was launched in January 1990, with punters picking five numbers between 1 and 36. In April 2001, the range was increased to 42.
Gamblers have only one chance in 850,000 of winning, but despite the high odds, the Super 5 lottery remains the most popular.