LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The seventh-highest Mega Millions jackpot ever could hit Friday night when the numbers come up at 8 p.m. (PST).
The jackpot has reached $862 million as of Friday afternoon, and could top $940 million for Tuesday if no one matches the numbers tonight.
Las Vegas residents often head to The Lotto Store, just across the Nevada-California border from Primm. It’s about 45 miles from Las Vegas.
Mega Millions hasn’t reached these heights in December before, California Lottery officials said.
The jackpot has been building since September. In that time, the California Lottery has raised an estimated $58.5 million for public education just from Mega Millions sales alone, officials said.
“Raising money for schools is the sole mission of the California Lottery and why we exist in the first place,” California Lottery spokesperson Carolyn Becker said. “It’s also why we get particularly excited for jackpots to approach a billion dollars because when they do, more people are enticed to play, our sales are stronger, and we raise even more supplemental funding for public education.”
For every $2 Mega Millions ticket sold in California, about 80 cents goes to help fund public education, lottery officials said.
The last Mega Millions jackpot was hit in Texas.
