$540M Mega Millions Pot Is Largest Ever
(CBS) - The Mega Millions jackpot is now at $540 million for Friday's drawing, a new world record.
The jackpot jumped to a world record $540 million Thursday morning after reaching a U.S. record jackpot on Wednesday of $476 million.
The cash option for the jackpot now stands at $389 million.
The previous jackpot record was $390 million, for a Mega Millions game in March 2007. Two winning tickets that year were purchased in Georgia and New Jersey.
This jackpot has been growing since January 24, when Mega Millions had its last jackpot winner. The pot has now rolled 18 times without a winner. The odds of winning the jackpot are approximately one in 176 million.
Several Bay Area tickets have matched five of the six numbers in recent draws. A ticket sold in Mountain View was worth more than a quarter of a million dollars in last Friday's game. A group of Corte Madera pizza parlor employees also cashed in for more than $300,000 during Tuesday night's draw. Alice Radio's morning crew also took home more than $13,000 from a ticket purchased earlier this week.
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