Lottery Jackpot Reaches $500M

If there was ever time to splurge that $1 and go in for a lottery ticket, now would be it. The Mega Millions jackpot has reached an estimated $500 million ahead of Friday’s drawing, making it the largest in the history of the game. Tuesday night’s drawing, worth $363 million, produced no winners, spurring lottery-lovers back to the convenience counters to nab more tickets. Forty-seven ticketholders won $250,000 each on Tuesday by matching five numbers, but there was no coveted six-number winner. The game’s previous biggest jackpot was $390 million in 2007, split by two winners.