This is one of those days that entices many to dream a little. What would we do with a quarter of a billion dollars?
The dream comes to mind when each of us hears tonight's Mega Millions jackpot is up to $252 million.
That's the biggest pot in 18 months.
It took a lucky 13 rollovers in a row to get to this point.
Mega Millions is played in 11 states outside California so the competition is stiff. We are up against relatives and friends in Ohio, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Texas, Virginia and Washington.
The odds of winning? Not good -- more than 175 million to one.
Three Bay Bay Area lottery players just missed last week's draw. They picked four out of the five numbers earning $154,178 each.
The tickets were purchased at the Steel Bear Deli in Petaluma and the Food Bowl Market in San Jose.
More than 95 percent of California Lottery ticket sale money is returned to the community in education funding, prizes and retail commissions, according to the organization. Since the lottery was created in 1985, it has contributed almost $21 billion of its $56 billion in total sales to California schools.
