The Ohio Lottery Commission is betting its newest game, Mega Millions, will be so profitable that it's spending nearly $1.8 million to promote it.

"Stack your cash up, and get ready to buy tickets,'' advised one state attorney who says an ongoing legal battle won't halt Ohio's entry Wednesday into the nine-state lottery.

Opponents of the new game, meanwhile, warned state officials that they will be breaking the law if they forge ahead with what has been called an unconstitutional interstate game.

"All we can ask the judge is, 'Stop it. Please do so in a hurry,' '' said David P. Zanotti, president of the Ohio Roundtable, who sought another preliminary injunction Friday in Franklin County Common Pleas Court.

The opening jackpot Friday will be at least $10 million -- and millions more if there's no winner in Tuesday's final Big Game drawing. Mega Millions replaces the Big Game with the addition of Ohio and New York.

Other participants are Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey and Virginia. Washington state is expected to join in September.

One upcoming television ad, titled "Convoy,'' shows actor Leslie Nielsen trucking into Ohio with a Mega Millions logo on his tractor- trailer, touting the fact Ohioans will no longer have to drive across state lines to buy multistate lottery tickets.

Zanotti's lawsuit is unlikely to stop Ohio's participation in the first Mega Millions drawing at 11 p.m. Friday.

Mark Landes, the state's special counsel, said that even if Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Daniel T. Hogan grants an injunction, the state could probably obtain a delay in the order -- and the new lottery game would proceed.

In their lawsuit, Zanotti's conservative research group, United Methodist Church officials and other anti- gambling activists have cited defects in the multi-state contract and various constitutional issues. Zanotti predicted a lengthy appeal.

"It's not just unconstitutional, it's illegal. It's not just illegal, it's criminal,'' he said.

The Ohio Roundtable sought an injunction in February to halt the multistate game. Hogan has yet to rule on that motion.

Hogan last week turned down motions to require testimony from Gov. Bob Taft, Chief of Staff Brian K. Hicks and Deputy Chief of Staff Beverly Martin.

Mega Millions drawings are at 11 p.m. Tuesdays and Fridays. The Ohio Super Lotto will continue with its minimum $4 million jackpots on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Ohio lottery officials have complained about competing with border states that offer multistate games.

Pennsylvania recently joined the 22-state Powerball, which includes Indiana, Kentucky and West Virginia.

Ohio officials project Mega Millions will raise at least $41 million in new lottery profits next year.

Although the state likes to boast that all of its lottery profits go to education -- $637 million this year -- that figure still represents less than 6 percent of the state's $11.3 billion education budget.

The state constitution, through an amendment approved by Ohio voters, requires the profits go to education. However, Ohio schools will not get any additional money from the new game; the $41 million added to education is being offset by $41 million being transferred from education to the state general fund to help bail the state out of its current budget crunch.

The initial ad campaign bills Mega Millions as "more states, more money, more fun.''

Lottery spokeswoman Mardele L. Cohen said the promotional campaign is being financed within the commission's $21.7 million budget.

Stern Advertising of Cleveland and Mycom Advertising of Cincinnati are running the media campaign at a cost of nearly $1.3 million. An additional $500,000 is being spent on promotions and related merchandise at sales outlets.

Cohen said that new sales terminals installed by G-Tech of Rhode Island about a year ago were easily reprogrammed for the new game. Cohen said Ohio officials have been testing computer equipment during recent Big Game drawings.

"The system has been running in test mode for several weeks now, and experiencing no problems,'' she said.

On Wednesday, the first day of Mega Millions ticket sales, lottery employees will appear at 44 radio stations across the state to promote the game.

Already, animated commercials are airing to show Ohioans how to play the new game, and Nielsen later will appear in another Mega Millions TV ad called "Bunny Heist.''

jcraig@dispatch.com