Lottery fever is about to hit a pitch the likes of which has never been seen.
No one picked all six Mega Millions numbers Tuesday night so the jackpot will roll over to Friday at a whopping $500 million. You don't have to be an accountant to know that is half a billion dollars.
The jackpot of $363 million made for long lines at convenience stores. Expect those to get even longer between now and Friday. The numbers will be drawn at 8 p.m.
Lottery officials say it will a record-setting "pay-me-now" cash value of $359 million (before taxes).
The previous record jackpot in the Mega Millions game was $390 million back in 2007. That money was split by two winners in New Jersey and Georgia.
The Mega Millions jackpot has been rolling over ever since Jan. 24. That means no one has won 18 times in a row.
Last night's lottery had nine California players who matched five of the six winning numbers. Those winning tickets are worth $308,573 each.
Tuesday's winning numbers were: 9, 19, 34, 44 and 51. The Mega Ball was 24.
Mega Millions is played in more than 40 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The odds of winning the big prize are approximately 1 in 176 million.