Mega Millions Jackpot Jumps To Over $1 Billion Ahead Of Friday Night's Drawing
PENNSAUKEN, N.J. (CBS) -- It's more like mega billions now that the jackpot is worth more than $1 billion. The lottery rose after nobody won Tuesday night's drawing.
There are a couple of big questions that we are asking on Wednesday: Are you feeling lucky? And, what would you do with all that money?
Outside the Wawa in Pennsauken, people have been going inside to purchase gas and a lottery ticket. We're told they are expecting longer than usual lines.
The mega millions jackpot has surpassed $1 billion. No ticket matched all six numbers drawn Tuesday.
The Mega Millions record jackpot is over 1.5 billion dollars, which was won in South Carolina in 2018. To this day, it remains the world's largest lottery prize ever won on a single ticket.
As the jackpot grows, so does the number of winning tickets at different levels. We had no problem finding people ready to spend a couple of bucks, hoping for the big payout.
"A lot of people they just walk in and straight to lottery, so I already know," Dulce Rojas, a cashier, said. "And I'm like, 'Is it for Mega?' And they are like, 'Yes.'"
"For two dollars, give it a shot," David Knotts, who purchased a ticket, said.
"We are working with a group of people and we are thinking about making a community with no bars, no nightclubs, and simple restaurants," he added.
"I figure I ought to get the winner once in a while," David Baskin, who also bought a ticket, said. "And I don't want the whole thing, I'll just take a little chunk, I don't need the whole thing."
But as the numbers rolled in, a Mega Million spokesperson said its website was seeing "unprecedented traffic" with many getting error messages.
The site saw around 62 million requests within a 24-hour period. So, is there any way to up those one-in-302-million chances of winning on Friday?
"The best tip I can give folks is, play together in groups," Rich Wheeler, the co-founder and president of Lottery Now, said. "So you can think about the office pool, pool your tickets together. Each ticket you buy gives you an extra chance to win."
So here's what's up for grabs Friday night: the estimated jackpot is just over $1 billion, $1.025 billion, with a cash value of over $600 million at $602.5 million.
So far, there's been 29 drawings at all different prize levels since the jackpot was last won in Tennessee on April 15.
While no one won the big jackpot, two people in New Jersey won $1 million prizes.
Stay with Eyewitness News for the latest on the Mega Millions drawing on Friday.
