The North Carolina lottery commission voted unanimously Monday afternoon to add MegaMillions to its lineup, giving the state a second multi-state game with eye-popping jackpots.

MegaMillions tickets could start selling as early as Jan. 31. North Carolina has sold Powerball tickets since 2006, the year the state lottery began, with two drawings a week on Wednesday and Saturday The addition of MegaMillions will give players two more drawings a week, Tuesday and Friday, in which the jackpot can balloon to $200 million or more.

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Powerball and Mega Millions are similar lottery games that include several states. Here's a comparison.

THE GAME: In Powerball, players try to match six digits. Five white balls are drawn from a pool of balls, numbered one through 59. The sixth number, the Powerball is drawn from a pool of red balls numbered 1 through 39.

In Mega Millions, players choose five numbers from 1 through 56 and the sixth number from a separate pot of yellow "Mega" balls numbered 1 through 46.

THE PRIZES: In both games, jackpots are determined by ticket sales. Powerball has a minimum jackpot of $20 million, the value of a 30-year annuity purchased by the cash in the jackpot pool. Powerball awards much smaller cash prizes for matching various combinations of numbers. The lowest win is $3 for hitting the Powerball only.

The Mega Millions jackpot is also based on ticket sales and the value of a 26-year annuity. The lowest win in Mega Millions is $2 for hitting the yellow ball.

THE ODDS: The odds if hitting the Powerball jackpot are one in 195,249,054. The odds of hitting the Mega Millions jackpot are one in 175,711,53. To put that in perspective, of all the millions of Powerball tickets sold in the nation in a year, only about 13 hit the jackpot.

Adding a second, big jackpot lottery game to North Carolina would mean more players and more tickets sold, said lottery executive director Tom Shaheen.

Powerball sales spike when jackpots hit the hundreds of millions. Adding a second multi-state game, the Mega Millions, would likely mean that there's always one game with a big jackpot, Shaheen said. The current Mega Millions jackpot is $200 million and the Powerball jackpot is $30 million.

"The research is pretty clear that players have an interest in playing both games," Shaheen told Dome. "Whatever jackpot is bigger is the one they're going to run to."

The downside is that with more players playing each game, jackpots will hit more often, reducing the mega-huge jackpots that get so all the news media attention and spur sales.

Making Powerball and Mega Millions available in multiple states would also be a first step toward a national lottery game that is available in all 44 states with a lottery. That game would likely feature a $5 ticket and frequent huge jackpots.

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Is Mega Millions coming to a convenience store near you?

N.C. Education Lottery officials said today that lottery groups nationally are considering the potential of all U.S. lottery jurisdictions selling both Mega Millions and Powerball tickets.

On Oct. 7, Mega Millions and the Multi-State Lottery Association agreed in principle to begin the process for implementation as early as 2010, and to work toward the development of a national lottery game, with a possible launch date of fall 2010.

Players would be able to play for big jackpots more days of the week if the deal is done. Powerball drawings are held on Wednesday and Saturday nights. Mega Millions drawings are held on Tuesday and Friday nights.

The state lottery first joined Powerball in 2006 and has sold $793 million in Powerball tickets. North Carolina has had two Powerball jackpot winners.

HAPPY THREESOME: Lotteries in most states recently reported a downturn in revenue, though North Carolina has bucked the trend partly because of the surprise performance of the Pick 3 game. Sales have been strong despite the recession. Players spent more than $200 million on the game last year. (N&O)

LEARNING THE BIZ: North Carolina must be more earnest in creating specialty high schools and drawing up courses that match the needs of growing businesses in regions of the state, Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton said Monday in kicking off a new state commission. (AP)

ALUMNI SHUFFLE: N.C. State University's interim chancellor has fired the head of the alumni association, saying the group was struggling financially and its membership had been stagnant for years. (N&O)

Republican lawmakers want the state to be honest about the lottery's results, and they're not talking about the odds.

GOP lawmakers often introduce bills with little chance of passage but to make a point of protest. This bill, however, might stand better-than-average odds of surviving. The legislation proposes changing the N.C. Education Lottery to the N.C. State Lottery.

The bill quickly follows Gov. Beverly Perdue's proposal to use lottery money to balance the budget, a bait-and-switch that lottery opponents predicted when the numbers game passed amid guarantees that the gambling revenue would pay for education.

Convicted felon but then-Lottery Commissioner Kevin Geddings proposed the "education" middle name before he was forced off the commission and convicted of lying on his state disclosure form about previous work for a lottery company.

But why stop there? The lottery doesn't have to have such a pedestrian name. 

Dome invites readers to offer their own ideas for the N.C. (Fill-in-the-Blank) Lottery.

In a commercial airing now, Lottery director Tom Shaheen cautions against buying too many lottery tickets.

The law that created a state lottery includes some requirements that lottery officials try to curb problem gambling. The ad fits in that strategy.

The ad features Shaheen sitting in a diner. While he explains that lottery tickets can be fun, Shaheen begins dumping a bottle of hot sauce on his sandwich. Shaheen encourages anyone with a gambling problem to call the helpline at 877-718-5543.

"Because like anything in life, a little moderation can make all the difference," Shaheen says, looking glumly at his over hot-sauced sandwich.

The lottery cut the spot some time ago at a cost of $38,390, said lottery spokeswoman Pam Walker. The ad typically makes an appearance when the Powerball jackpot hits the $150 million mark. It's running now during prime time during the nationally observed Problem Gambling Awareness Week.

The estimated cost to run the ad this week is $148,000, Walker said.

* A fire broke out at CaptiveAire in Youngsville, a commercial ventilation company owned by Republican charter school proponent Bob Luddy.

* Gov. Beverly Perdue's first "State of the State" address on Monday will be broadcast on UNC-TV's digital channel and online on the governor's Web site.

* An ad featuring Tom Shaheen of the N.C. Education Lottery will begin airing soon as part of a week devoted to problem gambling. 

* Democratic pollster Tom Jensen notes that one percent of registered voters are Hispanic, though they are seven percent of the population.